Banbury again and pigs

Today marks the longest we have moored in one place (excepting a marina). I can think of worse places than Banbury. Once again we had a quiet night which is remarkable given our proximity to the town centre. As promised Matt turned up at 9.00am with electrical gizmo's and scanners, confirming the batteries are OK, fully charged and not leaking. Interestingly, we have 7 batteries and not the 6 listed on the original spec (fact or fiction?) or the 8 alleged by Eddie who still reckons we have 6 domestic, 1starter, 1 bow-thruster. Matt had suggested we "do our normal thing" today and he'll do another check in the morning in an attempt to narrow down what we are doing wrong, if anything. In the event we opted to continue our travels to Oxford, taking aboard the battery information and tips from every boater and his dog. All boaters are experts on most things boating but their information needs lashes of salt pinches. Getting out of Banbury was difficult as the lock and the lift bridge proved real bottlenecks as everyone had decided to leave at the same time. A boater kindly offered to operate the lift bridge for us but frustratingly only lifted it to within 4 inches of its maximum height which caused a coming together with our new chimney. It survived but will need some remedial work by the maker when we next pass his boat. The boater apologised as he belatedly raised the bridge to its full height. The subsequent cruise went well, through some very deep locks and spectacular scenery. At one lock a fellow boater recommended moorings at a pig farm selling excellent sausages nearo Aynho, which we found without problem. It is called the Pig Place and has lots of ducks, chickens and Old Gloucester Spot pigs. The owners live on their boat next to the farm, complete with a jacuzzi, an old racing MG and an immaculate Austin A35 van, one of which I used to own and love.