Back to Stone.

It has been a few days since I last posted as we have been busy, with lots of things, which include Keith and his health issues. The good news is his blood tests and ECG came back normal, so that is a relief to us both. The GP does not think that his heart problems are anything sinister, but as they are still happening, she now wants Keith to have a 24 hour monitor on, but we are unsure as to whether that will be happening as it could take a few months for the appointment, which is absolutely no good to us, with us being continuous cruisers. We need to be away from Stone and onto the Grand Union to collect coal and get away from the winter stoppages. Keith had the first dental appointment for his crown on Monday, and all went well, so we thought we would go off for a few days.So we left our mooring and headed south down through Stone and Star lock, meeting another boater coming up on their first time out with their new boat. The lady was asking my advice as how to operate locks in the most efficient manner, so I was happy to show her how I operate the locks and the things you must always remember to do. She was most appreciative for the help. I wish them lots of luck with their new adventure, and I dare say we will see them again someday.We arrived at Aston Lock to see that one of the lock cottages has now been sold. Another Lock cottage has gone, let’s hope it is to someone who loves the canal. The word was the house was up for sale for £250,000, which is a huge amount of money in this present climate. It was a really lovely day for cruising, and we met a few boats on the move. At the top of Sandon Lock we decided to wind in the winding hole and find a mooring with our bow pointing back towards Stone. We found a fantastic place to moor about ½ a mile above Sandon Lock. There were no boats, the faint rumble from the trains and plenty of wildlife to look at.It was so nice to have a bit of peace and quiet, after the hustle and bustle of Stone. Autumn has really begun to show its true colours, with the leaves on the trees turning, reds, golds and yellows. I just love the changing of the seasons.From our very quiet mooring, we were treated to views of a Kestrel hunting, a pair of Buzzards enjoying the thermals and cows feeding their calves, now what more could we possible want.
Marmite and Paddy were even allowed off to play as the mooring was so quiet.Paddy was doing his best to push Marmite into the cut, but she is far to clever for that. They certainly enjoyed each others company and gave us a few laughs.Paddy cannot understand why he never wins against Marmite. The thing is, she is much cleverer than he is, bless his heart. Come 4.30pm the Canada Geese took off for their evening roosting grounds, so it left us with a truly peaceful evening, with a lovely setting sun.By 10 pm we were both ready for our bed, and as we lay there we could not help but notice how quiet it was. There was not a sound, not even the rumbling of the trains. All around us was totally silent.
Having enjoyed a really good night’s sleep, we spent the day enjoying the solitude. I got some more of my blanket done, so it is now growing fast. Keith spent time doing his crossword, it was just so nice to be alone in a beautiful place. During the day both hire and private boats passed us in both directions. It has to be said that many of them clearly have not heard of ‘slow down past moored boats’. If either Keith or I had bothered to ask the boaters to slow down, we would never have sat down. Having read a fellow bloggers diary of a boater getting injured due to another speeding boater, The piece is called Speeding, I wonder how long it will be, before there is a serious injury caused. The injured boater in that case was not seriously injured, but what will it take for other boaters to have a bit of respect for others when passing moored boats. During the evening, Keith unfortunately lost the temporary crown that was fitted by the dentist on Monday, so we would have to head back to Stone. We awoke to a beautiful morning, the sun was coming up over the canal on what would start out to be a very still morning.I am a huge lover of sunsets and sunrise, there is something really magical about how the sky looks. We made our way back steadily towards Stone, catching sight of four cormorants in a tree, fanning out their wings to the early morning sunshine. This is what beautiful mornings are made of, seeing nature in the raw.Having arrived back in Stone, it was now raining, so we found a mooring below Star lock and made our way to the dentist, where Keith had his temporary crown repaired. Keith is due to have the proper one fitted Monday, so it only has to last a few more days.
We had toasted tea cakes for lunch, before moving Hadar up through the locks, to moor up again above Roger Fuller’s Boat Yard. We will be here now until at least Tuesday, as Keith has the dentist and we have a coal delivery to make. Life is never dull when living on the cut.

Before I sign off for the day. Do you keep a cat onboard your narrowboat, cruiser or barge? Or are you a lock keeper who lives in a waterside cottage with a cat? If so, Cats on the Cut would like to hear from you.
Cats on the Cut is a photographic research project investigating people who keep their cats on the canals and rivers.
If you would like to share your stories, experiences or anecdotes of cats on the cut, contact Linda Prince on 07887 600028 or email catsonthecut@yahoo.co.uk.