Seyella's Journey

A pleasant day at the Wedgewood mooring allowed me to get the other side of the boat painted below the gunwale. I’m glad to have got rid of the patches of primer I’d put on at Redhill. Now we’ve just got to avoid scraping it again. To be fair, trying to put a 6’ 10” boat into a 7’ 2” wide hole, from a distance of over 50’ away, often with a cross wind or an overflow stream pushing the boat sideways is a bit like threading a needle in sunglasses and mittons, in a gale.

Bruno is a lot brighter this morning, up and taking notice. Still not yet 100% though Sunday’s rest seems to have done him good.
We let the mooring at 09:50 and worked our way through Trentham lock and the Stoke locks. They were taking a long time to fill so I was opening both ground paddles at once. BIG mistake; I did the same when we got to Stoke top lock at Etruria junction which fills a lot quicker. The boat accelerated forward under the force of the incoming water, and hit the top gate with a jolt. A repeat of several weeks ago when we lost several glasses. This time was no different, but they were joined by the small teapot and a vinegar jar. My fault entirely. I’d not put the catches on the cabinets.

After the locks I set off into town to B&Q to get some odds and ends.

Squashed the chimney under a railway bridge in Stoke. It's not had a lot of luck - it has also spent 24 hours 8 feet down in the river Soar, till I could get a strong enough magnet on a string to lift it back out. Note the chain now fitted!

We stopped at Westport Lake again, a lot quieter than earlier in the year. I moved the central heating controller from the engine room to a more convenient spot in the bedroom, and replaced the push fit fittings on the loo plumbing with conventional compression ones.
Can now dispense with the saucer and sponge (see earlier post).

6 locks, 7 miles