Peeping Tom

I was walking Beano this morning at about 8 o'clock when he decided to do a poo right beside a neighbouring boat.

Like the responsible dog owner I am, I got out a poo bag and bent down to pick it up.

As I did so someone on the boat opened their curtains, and there I was bent over with my nose about a foot from their bedroom window.

No doubt my picture will be all over Facebook soon with a caption warning people about a geriatric female peeping Tom on the Kennet & Avon.

Towpath haircut

Yesterday the workmen came past to mow and  strim the towpath, the poor buggers can't do anything right. If they get too close to the boats some boaters complain that their boats get covered in grass cuttings. If they stay further away some boaters complain that the job isn't done properly.

The other towpath haircut was Steve, he sat on a chair on the towpath and I got the clippers out, grade four all over, he feels better and looks tidier now.

A creature of habit.

Steve and Beano are both creatures of habit, any change in routine sends both of them into panic stations.

Last night I wasn't well and spent most of the night on the toilet. Beano kept padding too and fro to see me. When I wasn't in the bathroom I lay on the sofa, I could doze off in a sitting position which was more comfortable, Beano was confused as I wasn't in bed.

Steve was in a panic as DD2 and the dgd's were coming for a boat trip today and he didn't know whether to put them off or not.

I did worry briefly that I may have inadvertently given every one at stroke club food poisoning but Steve is ok and when I recalled what I'd eaten I realised that I'd had something that doesn't agree with me.

So despite feeling as though I'd been run over by a steam roller I got up and walked Beano as the little bugger refuses to walk just with Steve.

Steve was in full on panic mode, counting life jackets, drinks and sausage rolls, dropping a carton of eggs whilst checking the fridge. He kept asking me questions, not waiting for the answer and immediately asking a different question. He was generally being a pain in the arse. His panic was affecting Beano who kept getting off the boat and going to the car park gate. He thinks we are going to leave him on the boat and go somewhere without him.

By the time DD2 and the kids arrived Steve was pacing up and down the boat talking to himself, Beano won't eat his breakfast as he's scared he's going to miss something and I'm ready to brain the paint of them!

Eventually we set off, we were travelling just under a mile to a lock, going through the lock, winding, going back into the lock and then returning to our original mooring place but facing the other way.

We saw lots of moored boats with garden moorings, people growing beans, cabbages and tomatoes amongst other things. There were also swans, geese and lots of dragonflies. The girls particularly enjoyed sitting on the front of the boat and going up and down in the lock. DD2 was surprised how much work was involved in working the lock and said she now knows why I've lost so much weight.

We had a picnic lunch once we'd moored up again. An assortment of finger food as there isn't room for everyone to sit at the breakfast and.

DD2 and the kids had a great time and went home with a carrier bag of food.

All in all a successful trip and Steve and Beano both calmed down once we set off.

Cooking for 30

Stroke Club today for Steve and my turn to cook for them, Spanish chicken with rice.

It was 93 degrees in the kitchen which
made it hard work but everyone enjoyed the meal so it was worth it.

It can be a challenge to cook for so many as the hall doesn't have an industrial kitchen, just a normal domestic set up. A five ring hob and two oven, neither of which is particularly big. There are a couple of big pans and some really big roasting tins, unfortunately the roasting tins don't fit in the ovens.

We are hoping to wind tomorrow, weather permitting, we are taking DD2 and the dgd with us so they get a little boat trip. It's only a couple of miles and one lock that we will go through twice but it will take a couple of hours and then we will have a picnic lunch.

Doing our bit

When I take Beano out for his morning walk I collect all the rubbish near our boat, next I collect all the abandoned bottles and glasses and put them on a table in the pub garden.

When we take him for a longer walk we walk to Burghfield lock or Southcoat lock, we help lock any boats through. I also pick up all the abandoned poo bags we see on our walk.

It's a shame everyone doesn't do this.

The Cunning Man

We are moored near a pub called the Cunning Man. We have had an assortment of neighbours, some stay only a few hours, some stay a few days.

We've had Mystic Waters, Thrupenny bit, Great Britain, Water Lilly and many others. A while ago we saw a boat called Argybargy, yesterday was saw R G Bargee.

We've seen a few people we know from various blogs and vlogs and had a chat and we've locked some single handers through the nearest lock.

There is a family of swans nearby mum, dad and seven cygnets, they sail past us twice a day but don't want feeding. 

I couldn't get mum and dad both in the photo as they were too spread out and I was stood on a narrow bridge. There are also Canada geese and Greyling geese upstream a way.
We will be here for another week I think as it's very pleasant.

Composting toilet

We did look at the information about composting toilets by we'd have to bag up the solids and put then in with the normal rubbish so it's not for us.