Thursday 5 July 2012

Mum and I spent the morning being P.A.T. dogs then collected Lydia from Nursery. We arrived at Kings Bromley before 3.00 pm and it was lovely and warm and sunny. We had a lovely time with Lydia showing Rosie Teddy round the marina. Lydia got even muddier than me jumping in muddy puddles while mum talked to the people on board NB No Direction. By the time it was bedtime Lydia had already used up two changes of clothes.

Showing Rosie Teddy around the marina



If you look carefully you can see a huge tortoise asleep inside this box teddy



the old rusty boat is just the place for pirate girls and teddies

every lady pirate has to have the lipstick right

26 June 2012

I was a bit worried all morning because the people were packing bags again and I didn't know what was happening.  Mum finally dried out the water in the bilges using my dog towels.  After lunch we said goodbye to Jennyanydots and to the swan family and set off to go back home.

Goodbye Swan family.  Goodbye Kings Bromley Marina

Mum was very happy because she had had such a lovely time.  Thank you Liz for coming out with us.

25 June 2012

There was some warmish sun today and more boats were moving.  Before we set off mum and Liz cleared the grease from around the greaser and the bilge pump and got it working properly again. 

A party of primary school children out on a trip

Mum said it was very good to see primary school children out on the towpath.. It was by Alvechurch Marina.  There is so much for children to see and learn about.

We stopped at Hopwas School Bridge for lunch.  We finally got back to the marina about 7.00 p.m.  It would have been earlier but a Black Prince boat seemed to take for ever to turn round at Fradley Junction and then we were in a queue for the last locks.  I was so excited to be back at Kings Bromley because for the first time for ages I knew where I was.

24 June 2012

When we woke up it wasn't raining but it was still cold.  There were showers as we went down the Atherstone Locks.  Liz was off the boat doing the locks and mum and I kept getting on and off to do the paddles on the other side.  At first I was a bit confused but I soon learnt that I had to jump back onto the boat quickly as it started to go down after mum had opened the paddle. 

the last lock going down Atherstone in the cold, wet and wind

We eventually moored up back at Pooley Nature Reserve.  I liked it there especially when mum played chuck it with me in the trees.  I never knew where the ball was going to go so I had to keep watching very carefully.  It was lovely and warm inside the boat because mum had lit the fire.  She kept looking into the bilges because the bilge pump didn't seem to be working properly unless she switched it on.  There looked like a lot of water around the engine and mum tried mopping it out.  Mum also got dad to use Facetime on his new IPAD so it was fun to hear Toby barking and dad talking.

23 June 2012

It was still windy but this time it was behind us and blew us quite quickly away from the basin.  We stopped at Tesco by the Ricoh Stadium.  As the afternoon went on it got colder and we moored up between Bridges 35 and 36 on the Coventry Canal.

22 June 2012

Today was Toby's birthday so mum sent him a message from me.  It was raining and very windy with some bursts of incredibly heavy rain.  Mum and Liz were absolutely soaking by the time we got to Hawkesbury Junction.  By the time we arrived in Coventry Basin it had stopped raining but was still very windy.  Mum and Liz took me into the city centre.  I had never been anywhere like it before but they said that I was a very good boy.  As the afternoon wore on I got more and more desperate because there wasn't any grass so where was I supposed to wee and poo?  Eventually mum found a lovely little garden down by the bridge at the entrance to the basin and it was perfect for me.

I  wonder what the man is saying to Liz

I stayed close to mum but I didn't like it very much

We walked round the basin and looked at the other boats.  There was a statue of a man called Brindley.  It was so big and black and still that I got frightened and growled and barked at it.  Mum didn't seem bothered so I just stayed close to her.

Sailing through the narrow bridge into Coventry Basin

It stayed dry but very windy all the time we were moored in the basin.  The people cooked and ate the goat for their evening meal.  They said it was like lamb but tougher and needed cooking for longer.  We had a very quiet night.

21 June 2012

When we woke up mum and Liz decided to stay at Market Bosworth for a while because they had managed to get BTFON.  They spent ages on their computers.  I wanted to get off the boat and play.
We eventually stopped at Stoke Golding for lunch because mum wanted to buy some mooring rings and new rope from the Chandlery there but it had closed because there wasn't enough trade.  After lunch we stopped at the farm shop by Bridge 23 again and this time they bought some goat!  The butcher actually got the carcass out of the fridge and cut some chops off it.  At the end of the day we moored up by Bridge 14 just past Hinkley. Jennyanydots kicked Liz into a clump of nettles.  Her arms were badly stung.

Today was the first time we all got properly wet.  The weather gods weren't smiling on us today.  It absolutely poured down with rain but mum and Liz enjoyed seeing the steam powered boat NB Tixhall steam past us and then moor up behind us.