Middlewich rain, shopping and cats

Still raining so we opted to go shopping as both Morrisons and Lidl are both nearby. Thanks to directions from the waitress last night we avoided getting too wet but decided on a taxi back. The original one booked suddenly became "too busy" for an hour or so but the back-up arrived within minutes and help load the mountain of shopping bags and the inevitable whiskey bottle into the cab and delivered us as close to the boat as possible. In fact the boat had been pulled free of the pins but re secured by some unknown kindly soul. Lynne had forgotten tea bags, amazingly, and volunteered to return to the shops after assisting me ensure the pins/ropes were as secure as we could make them. I remained aboard keeping an eye on things as a hire boat zoomed by, I guess because of the heavy rain and the grand-Prix style broad corner on the Trent and Mersey, but the pins remained secure.

Having given a glowing cat reference very recently they both decided to blot their copy-books yesterday by making a joint escape bid in very heavy rain, necessitating a search and rescue operation, which pleased us no-end. All four of us resembled drowned rats when we were eventually back on board.  I can't blame them as they had been confined to quarters all day and have got used to daily exciting forays into unsuspecting mouse territories, but unfortunately not permitted in torrential rain.

Talking of torrential rain, it gave way to brilliant, hot sunshine soon after lunch so we set off for the Anderton lift, mooring within easy reach but out of sight, just in time for a thunder storm to settle in, with very heavy rain. A neighbour boat owner helped us to bash in our pins and moor, lessening the risk of us disappearing downstream during the night. He recommended longer pins and where to get them within the vicinity, which we intend to do.

I've said before how much I like the north end of the Trent and Mersey. Today re confirmed this. The countryside here is stunning whilst the canal continually changes in width, mostly very wide, making cruising easy and enjoyable. Apart from the rain and scarcity of mooring ( other than with pins) I can thoroughly recommend it.