What was that cracking noise?

Quite a bit of excitement one day when I thought I heard the buzzing of a bluebottle, then I thought it must be a vintage boat coming, well then I'm not quite sure what I thought it was but the sleeping cows all got up and had mass looks of panic finally it appeared.....;

For those of you whom are uninformed let me enlighten you, its a Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, it has guns, rockets and missiles though maybe not onboard today, its just the thing for upsetting a herd of happy cows and disturbing the peace.  

I shall be writing to complain to the Ministry.

We went biking.  I really feel smug going under motorways and going over them is no exception.  Who wouldn't? 
I was minded to remember Mrs Mollie Wills, mother of great friends, she was a young girl from rural Wales at the outbreak of WW2 and became a Land Army girl, she married the farmer in time.  A lovely lady of refinement she was.
Decades later walking her own grandchildren over a Motorway, she told the little girls, "Look down there at all the nasty tourists arriving...... Let's spit on them!"

The pink tinged Hawthorne has arrived.

Prettiest house of the day goes to this one in the village of Souldern in Oxfordshire.
I'd have that tree down, and probably plant pink roses at the front but gorgeous.

For my readers from overseas, this post box has GR so that would be the present Queen's father.  Not so many of these about.

Here's another from the other day, VR is Queen Victoria, even fewer of these ones.

It was very warm so we stopped here, The Fox at Souldern.

Finally the day came for us to leave Somerton.  David has loved every minute of our holiday here, he particularly has got to know the beautiful villages in the area.  We've been to some of the nicest pubs and also discovered a "Pop up restaurant" in the area, more of which in the future.

It was blowy when we were ready to cast off and in the very best of boating luck, three boats passed us in pretty quick succession,  as there are several locks to do today and us being behind a single hander, then two chaps towing a butty we decided to have breakfast here rather than on the move.

Finally finally we set off, I was clearing up and D casting off when I looked out to see him on the towpath, WaL across the canal and a rope.... "Need any help?"  He was fine, it was just that he had staked us so firmly with about 9 pins he had to use two hands to belt the pins out.  No one died.

Our mooring, I rather think we'll stop here again another time.

Around the corner and the canal opens out.

Pretty as a picture me thinks.

Now this was an interesting interlude.  We caught up two of the three boats although we had been dawdling.  

NB Clara has recently been sold and these two chaps were taking her down to the K&A to the new  owners to live on.  We were told that the previous owners had raised two children on her.  So a much smaller NB was doing the towing in clouds of smoke at one point.  David moored up and came forwards to help too.

All was going well, I wound up the paddle on direction, I never do this without direction of the captain.

Then we were talking at the bow, it's a 1906 boat built for or by The Shropshire Union Canal Carrying Company.  All I could find out was     HERE   

Sadly as you can see in the first picture, the tiller arm was at 90 degrees to the boat and as the boat descended in the lock we heard a sickening crack, David and I the only two with windlasses in hand dropped both paddles and then scampered up to the top gate and put water in bringing the boat up again and taking the pressure off the wooden tiller arm.  Refloating her.  

Bad language followed.

It was first thought that the entire rudder was damaged but the arm was tied, I offered some cording which we have, but that was declined and a pair of what looked like football socks were used. 

Mind that tiller......

Legging the butty out of the lock.

Shocking filthly shorts and feet, maybe he has Kiwi blood in him, they are always barefooted.

Bit more legging.

He was as nifty as my Kiwi son-in-law leaping about the place.

So after seeing Charlie the other day doing a full stretched leg manoeuvre here we are again steering with feet.  I feel my own skills at helming can only benefit from learning this....  

We moored up at Upper Heyford.  Ready for our trip tomorrow.