“Grande Cassina”

That’s Italian for ‘Big Drama’ or so I’m reliably informed.

And, YES!  Today we were involved in yet another drama and, YES! Yet again it’s because we got stuck on the bottom.

SO …….. there we were having just gone through the first two (or last two depending on which way you are going) locks on the Atherstone flight.  We were expecting the water levels to be low because the operation of the flight has been restricted in terms of usage time for quite a while now.  Attempting to enter lock 9, we ground to a halt.  Then, to make matters worse, something got stuck between the propeller and the skeg and the engine cut out.  We were going nowhere!  A broken boat hook and  mangled rope later, along came another boat.  The owners only picked up their boat, “Adagio”, three days ago!  They very kindly towed us backwards and we managed to get in to the side where John could try to remove whatever it was around the prop.  Well, somehow or other, after a great deal of whacking with a 4” diameter ash bough and getting extremely wet, hot and bothered, John managed to remove a large piece of wedged timber.

By this time another boater had come down the lock and, on hearing of our dilemma, he pulled up behind us saying that we might need some help during our second attempt should we get stuck again.  We got stuck!  Phone call to BW in order then!  Phone in hand ready to make that call, around the bend comes ………….. the cavalry!  Well, a BW chap in a tugboat but as good as.  He got on the phone to his mate at the top of the flight and in no time at all water was being sent down.  Under his tutelage I learned a new technique for flushing down water!!!  A dozen or so surges later we managed to get into the lock.  On our way – no more problems …………… until we got to lock 5.  There we again met “Adagio” who explained that, as water was being sent down to the long pound below lock 9, …………… nobody could go any further that day!  Guilty as charged!  We have since been told that someone had left a paddle up on lock 10 overnight so the pound had fallen by nearly 2'  They should have done something about it earlier but other boats had been getting through OK!

So, here we are, moored at the bottom of the last 5 locks, under the trees, by the A5 and opposite “The King’s Head”.  We’d never been into Atherstone before so this was our chance!  What a lovely high street with an assortment of individual shops.

 

And …………….. the new chimney is in place, looking good and working well.

 

 

Never a dull moment!!!!!!