Weedon to Nether Heyford.

Saturday 8th November.

Weedon Mooring.

With a wet and windy night having blown over, it was a bright sunny morning. With the wind blowing hard last night, the leaves on the trees took a battering, many of them now lying abandoned on the grass. Which in itself can provide problems when walking, because you know not what lurks under the fallen leaves, just waiting for you to step on them. Yes I refer to the dog poop issue all over again. This time of the year is a nightmare, when walking because of dog owners who allow their dogs to foul the towpaths or pavements. Instead of enjoying the countryside views, you have to constantly stare at where you are placing your feet. Otherwise you end up back onboard your boat with more than you bargained for. There is absolutely nothing worse than having dog pop on your shoes and clothes, so I am asking once more for dog owners to PLEASE clean up after your dog. Luckily Paddy’s morning stroll did not include me picking up someone else’s dog mess. Paddy enjoyed rummaging through a wooded area before he jumped back onboard Hadar for his breakfast. Today we were staying put at Weedon, so it meant we could get a few jobs done, which would include housework (boat), no different to cleaning your house. I still have to sweep and wash the floors, shake out the mats, and do any tidying up. Keith set about putting up some hooks for me and tidying the wiring under the TV shelf. It looked a little like spaghetti junction, but he soon had it tamed and looking more organised. I stewed the apples we picked up whilst descending the Buckby Locks, a neighbour next to Anchor cottage, had put out a bucket of cooking apples, which were fallers, with a sign saying “ Please feel free to help yourself to these cooking apples”, which I did. Now they are going to make a nice Apple Crumble, with custard on top for Keith. I am not one for custard. After lunch Mike on Jubilee came past, as he delivered to his regular customers on his way back to Stoke Bruerne. We told him we would meet up with him in a few days. His reply was “We will have to have a drink together”, now that sounds like a good plan. We took a walk back down into Weedon to the One Stop Shop, to pick up some custard for the crumble. With the light so good, I got the camera out and took some photographs of the church.

I was lucky enough to capture the Virgin Train passing the church. It is amazing to see as the train is almost as high up as the church roof.The church was flying the Union Jack proudly ready for its Remembrance Day service. I hope you have remembered to by your poppy. As the evening drew in, the wind and the rain reappeared with a vengeance. The forecast was for 28 mph winds, so it was a time to batten down the hatches. Because Hadar was getting blown around so much, Keith threw our 56lb weight overboard, to stop Hadar banging against the concrete bank. It certainly worked.

Sunday 9th November.

Weedon to Nether Heyford, 2.3 miles.

When we awoke, it was still blowing a hooley, which did not bode well for the morning short jaunt to Fred Tarry's coal yard. At 9am the church bells began to peel, to annouce the Sunday morning service. Adults and children were lined up outside of the church for the Remembrance Day Parade, with their flags and poppy wreaths, it was a moment for reflection.

Having done all the usual morning things, we set off at 9.45am. Our first port of call was to see Elaine and David on N.B Patience, who have a mooring at High-house Wharf. Whilst we did the short trip to meet up with them, I stayed on the bow, which was very breezy. We cruised past Stowehill Wharf, which was all quiet. as we past by the moored boats at High-house wharf, David and Elaine were looking out for us, ready to grab ropes as we pulled alongside to breast up with them. We first met Elaine and David on the BCN Explorer Cruise back in August, and became good friends. We were welcomed onboard their boat where we sat drinking coffee, chatting about our adventures since we last met and passing on any news we had heard. We said our goodbyes at 12.15pm and set off for the 10 minute jaunt to Fred Tarry's coal yard, where we had arranged a mooring overnight. So as I type this we are moored outside of the yard, ready to take on coal in the morning. The wind and rain are once more upon us, so we are glad we do not have to go any further today. Another week has past and we are now another week closer to the New Year. I do not mention Christmas, as no one can afford to have a Christmas this year, with the so called Credit Crunch, what ever the heck that is ha ha ha. Have a lovely weekend and we will see you next week.