Black Thursday

Not a great start yesterday. Slept well but woke in a deep depression for no obvious reason, unless the recent losses of a very dear friend and two cats, plus the strain of several pressing events in my life within a very short time span ( to be explained shortly ) can be counted as possible factors. In the event my hastily made plans to return home alone by train were thwarted by swift action by Lynne and Margaret, whisking me off for the day to Stowe House and Gardens in Berkshire. Stowe gardens are currently owned and maintained by the National Trust, who specialise in such things, and are magnificent both in size and quality. We had a good, if tiring, day out and I came back to the boat fully refreshed and reasonably mentally stable. The reason for the day's delay in publishing this post had nothing to do with my mental state, but rather a glitch with the dongle, now fixed.

When we left the boat was leaning away from the towpath bank but not putting adverse pressure on the ropes, apparently caused by leaking lock gates at each end of the pound and low water levels. The boat was firmly on the canal bottom, but in no danger. By the time we got back the boat was floating in fairly deep water again, the level adjusted by other boats using the locks during the day.