And we're off...

Well Reader, it's been a while, but we're back.  

Winter is over, the wedding is over and we have returned to WaL to start our cruising season.  
       We arrived back at Debdale yesterday after a pretty good run up the M1, the boat looks pretty clean and tidy, well she did prior to us moving everything onboard.  Then it all looked dreadful with clothes, boots, bedding, milk and eggs, 
(plenty of eggs for some reason), but I do hope that over the course of the next fortnight to have things ship shape and tidy.   I am compiling a list of all the things we have forgotten,  firstly the laundry bag, dirty washing now lying around the bedroom looking for a home, ummmm.  
      David never forgets a thing, he is chiefly concerned with wine and beer, he massively over stocks meaning that my kitchen counters have to accommodate the overflow.

      We decided to stop over one night in the marina to start off the fridge and the freezer on the leckkie and then leave the following morning.  A most prudent plan.  

Next morning found us at Waitrose in Market Harborough at 8am for the food shop, home again to unload and to ditch the excess packaging, my husband calls me a Rubbish Obsessive, this is only partly true, I do like to take every opportunity to off load rubbish and seeing that there was a bin at the marina I did so, three times in less that 5 hours, on the last occasion it was unfortunate that the bag split spilling egg shell and wet tea bags across the floor.   I will spare you the lippy comments from Himself.
There was a boat fuelling up at the wharf so we waited, hovering and finally pulled alongside to pay the final bill and collect paint...I hadn't clocked the boat out of he water...

But the friendly face of another Blogger introduces himself, Halfie of NB Jubilee.   HERE  He is having his hull blacked.  We chatted in the gorgeous sun then said our farewells. We set off to meet new old friends, Chris and Sarah from NB Dulcieblue    HERE  We first met these two last year at Norton Junction and leap frogged each other all the way up towards Debdale.  They have overwintered in Spain so it was great to catch up prior to them departing for the summer, there is a chance we will meet up in the coming months too.

L to R David Sarah and husband Chris.

Stocked up of the finest of chocolates money can buy... at Lidl.

So  4 minutes later arriving at the basin at the bottom of Foxton Locks, there had been a bit of a bun fight.  Now I am not saying anything BUT there is not supposed to be water pouring over the gates of several locks and down the sluices too to say nothing of water flowing (or rather had been) over the pathways and lock sides A small possibility of the middle pound to be operated by Rookies me thinks, I could be wrong.

            From not hardly seeing a boat all afternoon we arrive here to find that we are the fourth boat in the queue and the Lockkie telling me that we might not even get up the flight today as last boat in the locks at 4:15pm.  I didn't need telling twice, we watered up, moved the boat back onto a 24 hr mooring put the kettle on and the sun chairs out.
I walked back to the Lockkie to inform him of our choice but asked if we could go on the list for 8am in the morning... 
"No I'm sorry" he said not looking remotely sorry, but I countered with, 
"Its the same note book, can't you just turn the page and write us in the top? 
"No."

The gardens at pub Bridge 61 looking the best I have ever seen them

Crew member not looking terribly helpful as her boat was just about to enter the flight.

Lovely lovely summers day to set out on.  Catching up with old friends and meeting new people, sitting out in the sun finishing a great book with a glass of.... 
Can life actually get any better?

Supper was Avocado on toast with chillies ginger and coriander.
Great book was "My animals and other family" by Clare Balding
Time spent cruising approx 30 mins.