Horton Lock to Marsworth Pair of Locks.

Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th March.

Horton Lock to Marsworth Pair, 2.7 miles 5 locks and 1 swing bridge.We spent Saturday moored above Horton Lock as the weather was not very nice. We had a howling gale blowing up Hadar's stern, any boats we saw moving were struggling, so knew we had made the right choice to stay put. Throughout the day we had heavy showers, which also included showers of hail. We did very little all day, I did a general clean through the boat, and used my new floor mog to get rid of Paddy's footprints on the saloon floor. So we had a quiet day, watching the weather and this beautiful Romany Caravan from the galley window. I got down to reading 'Idle Women'. I have got to page 44 and I am really enjoying the book. Susan Woolfitt writes about the no-no of looking into other peoples boats, and it made me think of a conversation we had with a friend sometime ago. He told me that when he was a kid, he was sitting on the roof of his fathers working boat and another working boat passed them. He turned round to watch the boat disappear into the distance and for his trouble he got a chuff around the ear from his father. When he asked what was that for, he was told "You never ever stare into another boatman's cabin, that is their home. It would be like them coming and standing outside our living room window and staring in, do not let me catch you doing that ever again". I wonder how many people still live by that code of boating conduct? We never stare into boaters boats when either passing them or when they are moored up. We only acknowledge other boaters if they wave to us from their windows. We are all entitled to privacy, even if some feel like they live in a goldfish bowl. I am really enjoying 'Idle Women', it is one of those books I think you want to read over and over again.

Sunday.

I hope everyone remembered to set their clocks one hour forward. To remember which way round it should be, I always go with the rhyme, spring forward and fall back. We woke up to a bright sunny morning and absolutely no wind at all. The change in the weather from the past few days was remarkable, so we slipped our mooring at 10am and set off for the Marsworth pair of locks. With it being such a glorious morning, we had spendid views across the valley to the Chilterns. No matter which way you look there is fantastic scenery, it made for a very enjoyable mornings cruise. We met boats coming down the locks, so I got to pass the time of day. There were quite a few fishermen out on the towpath, some were happy to say good morning and others did not even acknowledge we were even there. I always like to say hello, just to be polite. The last piece of work for me was the swingbridge at Great Seabrook. For some time there had been a white plastic cruiser moored up on the bollards, but that has finally gone, hooray. We arrived at our mooring for the day at 12.05pm. Having moored up I made us some lunch and we are now enjoying the re-run of the Grand Prix. Congratulations to Jenson Button for his win today. Lets hope he has a great season. Also well done to Lewis Hamilton for taking third, what a sensational drive. Have a lovely Sunday and we will see you next week.