We set off as quietly as we could, knowing Viv on Monarch wasn’t very well, but Hadars engine and quiet don’t exactly sit well together. We again had locks against us, but hey ho, such is life. That is until we rounded the corner approaching Shutts Hill lock, and it was not only ready but Viv and Simon were manning it for us. We had a good chatter with them both, for as much as Vivs voice would withstand. As the morning progressed the air temperature rose, and the layers of clothing disappeared. I even got down to 2 shirts and a jumper, phew! We turned north onto the T&M at Great Haywood junction and arrived at Hoo Mill lock, to come across Chris and Karen on nb “Alice” coming down through the lock on their way for a few days out on the boat. We got passed Weetmans Bridge and one of our favourite moorings was vacant, there is only room for one boat, so we pulled in and moored up.
First job for me was to drain the oil out of the engine and put new oil in it, which didn’t take long to do. Jo had made a start on polishing the brass and I joined in tackling the tiller arm, tiller pin and engine exhaust. Hadar is now looking shiny and clean ready to enter Stone tomorrow, we can’t have her returning to her birthplace looking grubby.
Yesterday as we were heading south on the Shroppie towards Wolverhampton, we saw this huge plume of smoke and wondered what it was.
Apparently it was Carvers Building Supplies, in Wolverhampton, alongside the Wolverhampton flight of locks.
The railway line, and roads were closed, and the Wolverhampton locks have been closed due to pollution. More info on the blaze can be found here.
Keith.
No comments:
Post a Comment