On a Slow Boat to ………

We can’t make up our minds and stick to that decision!  Hope everybody had a good bank holiday weekend.

We are now at a little place called Shardlow – we’ve never travelled so slowly!  There are good reasons/excuses – call them what-you-like:-

*Meg has been to find us.  She spent a couple of days with us and has now taken Maisie back with her for a ‘holiday’ down South for ten days.  We’re always conscious of Megan having to travel quite a long way to come and find us and so we decided we would stay south of Nottingham in an attempt to make it a bit easier for her.  AMAZINGLY – the jumper fits, she actually likes it and wants another one!!    (The picture is for you, Jane!) 

Bienvenida En Casa, Megan (or something like that!)

Maisie may only be a little dog but, now she’s not here, her absence on the boat is enormous!

*Our Sat Map needed to go back for repair.  Our friend, Ron, works out of the East Midlands Airport right near here so we had it returned to him at his office.  The hitch was – he had gone home to Southampton for two weeks so we had to wait for his return at the weekend!  Jane came up too and on Sunday we all went out to a carvery called the ‘Coopers Arms’ at Weston-on-Trent for dinner.  Nice!

* Because of all the rain we have been having over the last two weeks the rivers Trent, Soar, Dove and Derwent have been in flood, out-of flood, in flood, out-of flood etc and it has definitely un-nerved us.       Apart from anything else, when we do go on the Trent we want to be able to take our time and enjoy it.  If a river is in such a volatile mood, we just want to get off it as quickly as possible!  It’s all fine at the moment – it’s back on green boards.  We are about a mile away from Derwent Lock where the canal enters the Trent. 

                 

                                                                The River Derwent joins the Trent just after the last canal lock.

Today, we have been promised some sunshine so we are going to go off on a bike ride.  South Derbyshire really looks after cyclists – there are lots of well-maintained routes.  Shardlow is a good base from which to explore the surrounding area.  It used to be an inland port so there are lots and lots of old, interesting buildings and warehouses – many of which have been renovated and converted into other things.

+ I found an enormouse nursery/garden centre at Swakestone so my tubs on the roof have all been re-planted ready for the summer!  They just need to be able to survive the rain and …… frost……  in May!!                                                                                                 

- One grumble about this stretch of canal – there are insufficient places at which to dispose of rubbish.

- Big minus ….. my brother is back in Hospital.  He has an infection so is being pumped full of antibiotics.  Quite understandably he is very despondent as it seems such a backward step.  His throat is back to being really, really sore both inside and out.  What a battle he is having.

Right – I’m off to get my lycra on ready for that cycle ride!  JUST JOKING!  They don’t make it in my size anyway!  Just as well!