Waiting in Willington

Here we are, officially in autumn. The weather isn’t a lot different though, is it! One sign is the profusion of blackberries in the hedges. Blackberry and apple crumble, my favourite.

We’re still in Willington, and will be for a few days more. I’ve organised a hire car for the weekend, so we can get up to Sheffield for the Great Yorkshire Run on Sunday. It’s handy here, only 4½ miles from the Enterprise branch in Burton, and only about 50 miles from the run. And the amenities are good here in the village. The rain is pretty wet, though
It’s busy with boats, more than normal. Mercia Marina, on the edge of the village towards Stenson, is opening for business at the weekend. The official opening is the weekend after, but I reckon they're getting some boats in to make the place look less sterile. So there’re quite a few boats tied up waiting to go in. I was told there are around 50 boats relocating from Sawley Marina, on the Trent. This is a better area, when the river is in flood you can’t get out of Sawley. This is more of an “all weather” navigation.

Yesterday we went back the ½ mile into the village to use the BW facility block, then came back and moored again. We actually winded (turned around) 3 times, so we’re facing the village again. On Saturday we’re going to try to get on the 48 hour moorings in the village, so we’re nearer the car park for Sunday morning.

When I first started running I did at least 1 race a year for charity. Since we’ve moved onto the boat my circle of regular acquaintances has contracted, so, rather than “tapping up” the same people all the time, I made the decision to run just for me.
I’ve changed my mind about that now, if I’m going to run I may as well try to make a difference to someone else. The someone else I’ve selected is Cancer Research UK, and I’ve set up a web page on justgiving.com, so anyone who wishes to sponsor me can do so online.

It’s too late for the Great Yorkshire Run, but I’ve set it up for the Great North Run on 5th October. So if you feel you want to contribute to this worthy cause, you’ve got just over 4 weeks to log on. It’s fully secure, and supported by a lot of charities. I’ll put a link on the front page of this blog, so you don’t even have to find this post for the link. Thanks in anticipation.