A rain dodging cruise

Well Reader, here we are on a short winter jaunt.  

You well might ask why...?  Its December, it grey and its wet,  but, we had to do a test drive as the last time we were aboard polishing her, we had a problem with the inverter.  It was as dead as a Do-Do.  

It's a pity really, we've been told that they should last fifteen years and NB WaL is only six years old.   So the inverter was sent home to Holland    (or now that I have a Dutch son-in-law I now know the correct term is  The Netherlands).  

The inverter has proved to be certainly dead and beyond repair, so we have a new one.    On that same trip last month, the Lockgate stove failed also needing attention, the gas cooker which is in times of chills is used as a mini radiator also failed as did two of the four gas burners oh and I nearly forgot the water pump broke too.

Can you imagine how blue the air was?  And that was just me.

So happily its has all been fixed and we were looking forward to having a little run out.  

The Boat Sharers had received a call and were available for fun too.   The first evening we met friends from the area Ed and Jane, also farmers, we all met at the Boboli restaurant in Kibworth.

The next morning after David Lewis had been 'dan the 'ole' changing our engine belts, we set off for Foxton.  I had given the choice of routes to Amanda, either to Market Harborough to include some time at the shops or up the flight to Welford.

Here are the resident swans at Debdale.

Amanda chose to go to Welford so we went up the flight.

Here is Amanda, on lock duty in her splendid hat, I too had a hat on but David calls mine supremely hideous so I have saved you the shock.

There she blows, finally, the boys had washed the roof and put water in her while Amanda and I walked up the top to book in with the Lock Keepers.

Little twins in red.

We were the second boat that day.  I hoped for a clear run but just as with buses, two more boats arrived to come down so we had to wait in the middle pound for them to pass us.
I left Amanda on lock duty and I went to warm up the soup.

Very low pounds today.

Damp afternoon and no people around, the two boats having vanished.

Top Lock

Weekend crew.

Sweet Cheeks Lewis.

 So we trundled along munching on cheese biscuits and wine, enjoying the changes in the sky, it was supposed to clear up and be sunny!

Lovely open views towards Lubenham, see the sky in the distance?

She had her mouth full of cheese here.

I just loved how the few remaining golden leaves decorated this tree.  Pity the sun wasn't on them.

Didn't have to share this sight with any other boats.  

So as you might be able to tell the time had marched on and we knew that we wouldn't make it to the Welford Arm in the light so without much bother we moored up at The Laughton Hills.

Now actually I'm not sure if this was the evening or the next morning but they were very similar scenes

Now Amanda took this one and several other crackers, I have tried to put them up but my computer said nah, it knew I had stolen them, they were lovely.

So here we were, we had turkey curry out of our freezer that David had made curry with.  Every year at about this time we have turkey curry, to make room for the next lot of turkey going into the freezer in a few weeks time.  
Dessert was carrot cake with the cream cheese icing.