My new toy

Well I'm very glad we left for Sandiacre yesterday 'cause throughout the night, and well into the morning, we were buffeted by rain and strong winds! Mooring in the open as we are here in Sandiacre made us realise just how sheltered The Great Northern Basin is. Our sleep was constantly interrupted by the hull banging and scraping along the stonework. We wished we had our large balloon fenders to hang from the side but the pair were still in the garage and neither of us fancied venturing out to go get them! I did have to brave the winds early this morning to let Woofit out and go fetch some milk and bread which, in our haste at leaving Langley, I forgot to get. I was desperate for the rain to stop as on Sunday I was the successful bidder on ebay for a nearly new Canon 600d DSLR with 18-135mm  lens and image stabaliser. It came complete with all accessories, ie leads, battery's and chargers, manual, 16 GB memory card, camera bag etc and added bonus it was in Leicester and could be collected that very day. So no postage to pay and the little petrol we used saved us a further £20.  I cant wait to get off the auto setting . On the journey down yesterday every photo taken ( apart from the And finally) was with my new toy and today will be a day of playing with it and finding my way around the menus.

Later in the morning I heard paddle gear being worked at Sandiacre lock. And here was me saying yesterday that no boat was likely to come up the Erewash from the river! Turns out I was right after all as it was Barry Argent with historic boat Perch coming to wind. His mooring is on the offside between Sandiacre lock and Dockholm lock so it mattered not if the river was on red boards. After an almost perfect turn in the arm, and in spite of the wind making life extremely difficult, he then picked up a long length of rope and plastic round his prop which promptly stalled his engine! Ian went out to help as he could see Barry was struggling with trying to control the boat in the wind and remove the debris from the prop. Within 15 minutes the offending articles were removed and he was on his way again back to his mooring.

 We also had a visit from C&RT.  They must come regularily to clear out the by wash judging by the swans so completely at ease by his presence.

Took this photo with my new camera. Tried it on shutter priority but cant seem to get the settings right yet.

This one turned out a bit better.

.And finally:-