Market Harborough

 A choir of pidgeon's woke us this morning, spoiling what had been a very peaceful night. The weather is overcast, as is the long-range weather forecast for the next few weeks. The summer seems to have scarpered before even arriving?

Lynne and I are both physically and mentally exhausted after several very long cruising days, each involving  up to 9 hours and 15 very heavy double locks. Enough is enough. Keith and Jen, despite extolling the virtues of "2 hour cruising stints" ,stops for lunch and mid to late afternoon overnight mooring, reality involved none of them. Lynne has addressed these issues with them almost daily, extolling the virtues of keeping to my diabetic injection and eating regime, plus the limitations my chemotherapy and radiology treatments put on my physical performance and safety, but apparently to no avail. Quite why, we have yet to work out as they are both very intelligent individuals, albeit a little eccentric. We have been an excellent partnership and our routes will differ once we leave Market Harborough so we do not need to address the issues again immediately, but it gives food for thought before embarking on any future arrangements for sharing double locks, of which the Grand Union has many.

Market Harborough suffered heavy constant rain for the morning so I took the opportunity of catching up on sleep and rest.

Inevitably sunshine and slight warmth arrived early afternoon so I took the opportunity of looking round the town, although Lynne flatly refused to join me ( we are not on speaking terms at the moment as I have requested to return home earlier than scheduled due to exhaustion and associated risks to my health and wellbeing.   

 Market Harborough is very impressive and offers lots of car parking in the town centre ( some free ) together with every large supermarket brand and impressive indoor and outdoor markets selling everything from fresh fish to clothes, all accommodated in a traditional "unspoilt" shopping town without any sign of traffic congestion. Given a choice I would have liked to spend more time here, but not in the present circumstances. With a brilliant sense of irony Keith and Jen have invited us out to eat with them at a pub somewhere in town with a provisional time of 1900 agreed. We'll see. As both our boats are already moored timing should not prove a problem this time, surely? Conversations over dinner could prove "interesting". We aim to go our separate ways tomorrow so Lynne and I may get back on an even keel, so to speak.

Despite the brilliant new canals/ rivers visited and the "fully working boat", this trip has been one from hell for me, sadly.