Coventry return

With the last two Atherton locks to tackle this morning in mild temperatures with non-rain clouded skies above the mood aboard remains good.lynne elected to delve into the bilges once again, this time with a large sponge and the multi fuel Stove utensils ! The new drip tray below the prop shaft "joint" was full, which indicates the seal is not as effective as that on Karen and Steve's boat, which does not drip at all, but we will have to live with it for now as replacement is likely to be expensive. However, we have resolved to improve the emptying process, the only problem being how?

We stopped for food supplies at our "regular" supermarket on the Coventry canal at Fazely, which involves hiking alongside a field of rape for half a mile or so. This particular Branch of Asda seems to recruit staff half a sandwich short of a picnic, which makes the process of shopping particularly slow and frustrating compared to our more usual Sainsbury's or Waitrose, who seem to recruit along the lines of intelligence and customer care/satisfaction. The shopping "experience" and the long trek back to the boat wasted most of the afternoon, hence locating a more suitable overnight mooring spot took us into very late ( for me ) dinner territory at the Red Lion in Hopwas. The Wild Otter looked a better bet but would have proved cold eating outside as we were accompanied by Benson, Karen and Steve's minute dog. The Red Lion is dog friendly, the Wild Otter is not. The food was OK, but we returned to our respective boats knackered and ready for bed. The night was cold and Sadie was particularly restless and noisy. Hence we got up early, still knackered.

Queen of Coventry

A gross, grumpy uninvited lunchtime "guest".