Monday mania

 Sunday pm

Not the most sensible day for a BBQ, A bit on the cool side, but we had agreed it was to be today so  meat had been taken out of the freezer and had to be used. Lit by 5pm it did mean we had to start drinking earlier than normal though.😉🍷🍺 Cant have a BBQ without some sort of alcoholic drink in ones hand whilst cooking.

Look at that...enough for two days!

Well would you believe it. Ready to leave this morning and moored in front was Festina Lente with Andy and Sue. Damn, if we had realised last night they could have joined us for the BBQ. Anyway we had a natter this morning, Andy reminded me where we had met several years ago (Thames) and a pleasant 15 minutes was spent catching up. 

I somehow think we made the wrong decision to move today. Every man and his dog was out on the cut. And no wonder, it being a bank holiday Monday and all. Negotiated Bridge 41 without incident, (the bridge that Ian was stuck in the mud). But then, guess what...I did the same thing at bridge 40. Saw the lady walking along the towpath first. Noticed she kept looking back and then high tail it back toward the bridge ole. Out came a hire boat, not at all slowly and had to put on the brakes. I in the meantime had gone far over as I could to the right which happened to be on a bend, and immediately FS's stern dug into the mud. Hire boat made it through, I tried to swing the bow to the left aiming for the bridge hole when the inevitable happened, I put on the power to get off the mud, the bow swung to far left and I ended up in the offside vegetation on the far bank. No photos of this incident. To busy trying to sort myself out! Anyway I did manage the manoeuvre only to find yet another boat had arrived at the bridge and was hanging back watching, with some amusement no doubt, at my plight.

Next mishap (not to me) happened to a nice shiny beautiful looking private boat. Again arrived at a narrow due to overhanging trees, I moved as far right as I could, that boat also moved over to his side but went too near to the offside and straight into those overhanging branches. Not only the sound of scraping of those branches along the cabin side but his chimney got picked up and thrown onto the cabin top. I cringed as I went past but for some reason the owners seemed totally unperturbed! I would have been heartbroken! For this reason alone I persuaded Ian to remove our chimney.

Offside hanging branches where that boat went through.

And a good job too as plenty of towpath overhanging branches too

 Still more madness to come though. Through bridge 37 and passing moored boats another boater who got the turn wrong. I truly believe the trouble on this part of the canal is the amount of built up silt on both sides. Go slightly off-centre and the boat rides up on the mud which means loss of control on the tiller.

Having seen FS, into reverse he went.

And then not long after passing this boat, yet another hire boat heading towards us. Took this photo to show the typical example of what I was talking about. 

Quite a lean on!

He also got himself in a pickle trying to straighten up and unfortunately for him another boat was almost up his backside.

Brakes went on again and blow me down if behind that boat, another boat turns up as well!! Absolute mayhem and blooming glad we were heading away from it all!

Finally, we reached a heaving Sutton Cheney. Where was the social distancing here?? After filling the water tank, emptying cassettes and getting rid of the rubbish we really thought our best bet was to find a mooring sooner rather than later and let the madness of this Monday pass by.

Oh and one more mishap that I must mention. In front of all the Gongoozlers at Sutton Wharf bridge, Ian once again at the helm, hit the coping on the bridge towpath side...again sending my chilli plant in the well deck onto the seating!!! So much for women drivers!!!! 😏😒

 And seen on route.

Someone has a sense of humour.

And seen in the field by Carlton moorings,