So now I know!

This is crazy!!! How can I have Hayfever in Autumn??? All the signs are there, itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing and generally feeling yuk. Is there pollen about at this time of year? Is this why I have vertigo, feeling drunk but without the pleasure of drinking alcohol? Questions, questions and now I have found the answer why.

It's to do with a rare pollen caused by Ragweed. Not normally a problem in the UK it is rife in the US with their mild Autumns. Because the UK has experienced such unseasonal and warm Autumn this year it looks like Hey fever sufferers (and I'm one of them) will be susceptible more and more often as our climate changes. To see what is said on the web CLICK HERE

Piriton to the rescue as well as Optrex for itchy eyes and the improvement was almost instant. So I'm able to function again and today I did most of the steering whilst Ian went to sort out the TV connections and cabling which had been changed around in the cupboard. (more of that later) 

Leaving Old Oaks Wood I was forever going into reverse trying to clear the leaves accumulating around the prop. This time of year it's a right B and that no mistake!

And then a little further on I spy something moving on the towpath,

 It wasn't long before I had to call Ian back from working in the cupboard as we had arrived at the Rose hire boats in Stretton. Across the canal was a small swingbridge, in use most of the time because the hire boats were one side and their offices were the other. In the distance another boat approaching and it was a question of 'breathing in' for the two boats to pass. I'm ashamed to say I did nudge one of the moored boats on the offside so my apologies to the boat owner if you are reading this.

And now to last night and the TV....a weird moment occurred whilst watching Strictly it takes Two, a cup of coffee was requested so Ian went to the cooker to light the gas with the built-in ignitor and as soon as the thing sparked the picture disappeared. No amount of re-tuning, switching the TV on and off or playing with the aerial connections in the cupboard would get it to go. Nothing for it but Ian had to go outside in the dark, shine the torch onto the connections, test the cable with his cable tester to see if power was still going through and then remake the connection from the outside aerial to the socket. After 35 minutes of fiddling the TV sprang into life again. Quite bizarre really and why that ignitor spark would cause the TV to go off is still a mystery but one no doubt Ian will get to the bottom of eventually.

Only one lock to do, Sutton Stop at Hawkesbury Junction, and that has a drop of about a foot The right-hand turn was done in one go (give that girl a pat on the back) and a further 3.5 miles cruised before stopping just beyond Marston Junction.

To the Coventry canal through the arch

Marston Junction and the Ashby canal

Lovely rural mooring

On the journey,

This seen by the M6. I know I have put this on my blog and had a comment back about it before but cant remember what sort of plane this is

This large buoy has been in this cutting for years. Wouldnt cutting those tree trunks off be a better option?

And seen on route,

Red Wing

Pretty convinced this is a male Sparrow Hawk. About the size of a Kestral, I know the females are a lot bigger.