Norbury Junction and more chums

 

Last evening was cold when we landed,  plus the light was fading to get a good shot of the view here.  

Not entirely sure where were but way north of Norbury Junction, if I were able to pinpoint the mooring it's possible I might have been able to name that hill or mountain but let's just say it's bound to be Welsh.

Last nights mooring, pity we weren't here longer.

So the journey continued without much incident, none actually but here are some cows that David likes to see.  Did I ever tell you Reader that he is an ex-dairy farmer?  That profession largely accounts for his inability to stay in bed much past 6am, earlier in the summer.

David started up a milk retailing business in our area, pretty successfully too, but if a milkman went sick then David went off out at 1 or 2am, he said that he would never have looked upon a 5am start as a lie in.

One Sunday I offered to help out and go with him to do a Sunday am round I think it was, my mother came down to look after the three little children and off I went at god knows what time...  Well I made shocking mistakes, got cold, got sleepy and we ended up having a ghastly row and Reader I never "Helped" again and probably David was grateful I didn't. 

Pretty cows that bring back happy memories eh David?

Interesting skies today, hot and sunny, freezing and grey then hot and sunny again.

So we arrived at Norbury Junction, we have only passed through here before and apart from filling with fuel not moored up, so as we approached there was a swathe of empty moorings available, well did a spot of fannying that is to say lining up the solar panels with the only gap in the hedge and moored up.  

The rain was making itself unpopular coming and going and David disappeared to move the car along but more importantly buy milk and eggs.  

A little later along the path came Steve and Chris.   We met them back in 2012    HERE    this was Crick that year when   NB WaL was the Fernwood Designs boat on show.  Very sadly Fernwoods is no longer in business, but if you look at Steve's photos you will make out my friend Amanda and myself both in profile and both in warm clothing in the Ferwood's tent as it was perishingly cold and very wet.   

So although we have been loosely in touch since then, we of the Fernwood Fan Club, haven't met up with each other since that day.

Steve is a frightfully good egg and very kindly let us have a good gander at NB AmyJo and her new portholes which I want to have, they have had glass panels put into the side hatches which are fabulous, ours on WaL really need a bit of attention.

We had a lovely evening chatting and laughing and learning from them.  I can't imagine they learnt anything from us, but we both thank you for your time and help.

The four of us at The Junction Inn here at Norbury where we had super fish and chips. Sorry about the shocking clash of red handbag and purple fleece, shocking.

Well the next morning we wanted to roll along again but there was another blockage, a tree down across the canal way down the canal at Gnosall although the hireboats went through, we thought that they wouldn't really have an eye on the CART website, they would likely end up queueing somewhere.  So David did some boat polishing and I helped by doing a spot of buffing.  Much later there was a boat appearing down the way and we asked them if they had come through yes it's all sorted.  So off we went.  On reaching Gnosall, we couldn't see any sign of a tree down, no broken twigs, no sawdust, no trunk and no fallen tree, so that was a mystery.

This is another fallen tree, almost out of the way now but not at Gnosall.

Well it was a nicest sort of an afternoon, it stayed dry, sunny, the rain stayed away but we did have the winter gloves on now.

We carried on at Wheaton Aston, we debated about stopping for fuel, but the cheap as chips place garage there looked closed, it was about 5pm, so we didn't bother.  

A small wait for the on and only lock here gave me the opportunity to off load a smelly bag of rubbish, I'd taken the BW key with me just in case it was a locked fence and gate around the bins.  So when I had touched the bins, yuk, I went into the showers to wash my hands.  Well Reader what a find, what a joy a Book Swap and there was a pristine copy of  

The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo.  

HERE

I'd watched in awe of her creating dishes in what appeared a cupboard with a Baby Bell cooker but the book was pretty expensive at the time.  

So I can add it to my own collection of pristine cookery books mostly kept in a 'hard to get at cupboard' now, mostly unused too.  Still I'm very pleased.

Finally we moored up just north of Brewood.  George had told us that  Brewood is mostly in gloomy trees, so to moor up before it or after it.  We had intended to go to one of three recommended pubs here, but time was slightly pressing and that treat will have to wait to the next time.  

Supper was Chicken Malabar biryani, absolutely gorgeous, I'll pick that up again next time I'm in Waitrose for sure.