Hopwas jam

We made an early start to avoid forecast showers and hit.................forecast showers. Last night we ate out,mainly due to a lack of in- house supplies.Next to the canal in Polesworth is the Bull'sHead pub, which does not do food but has an Indian restaurant above called India Garden. The restaurant proved as inviting as the pub so we opted to sit outside on the "terrace", for the want of a better word. the food and service were brilliant so we awarded them a Brunoboat star without hesitation and Lynne left them with a few decoration hints, of which they promised to take heed before our next visit. The next village down the canal is Hopwas. Two prats uhad moored narrowboats on a blind bend which caused chaos as Tardis Two, a Tupperware boat and two narrowboats attempted to pass. Opting to reverse out of the way I slowly re-passed one of the aforementioned prats as he emerged, wearing only a pair of Cotton Traders XXXX pyjama shorts. His comment was "That's what you get when everyone leaves at the same time". My comment was "That's what you get when you moor on a blind bend". At which point he quietly disappeared again. Eventually all boats continued on their way and we moored for supplies and lunch at Whittington, I presume where Dick came from. As the village had a Co-Op (being refurbished) and a good pub we awarded it 8 out of 10 for liveability. the loss of two points being due to its proximity to Birmingham.

The Coventry canal construction varies considerably. it has no "soul". When it was built funding kept being a problem and a number of different companies and engineers became involved over the years,each incorporating their own ideas.

  Having started the day with light showers we finished it in a humdinger of a thunderstorm and, as has become traditional, mooring sites were suddenly at a premium, resulting in two very wet boaters. Overall good progress was made and my targeted appointments seem reachable.

Healthwise an average day with tiredness the main problem.