What a Lark!: Anyone for marriage guidance?

Well the expected rain that was forecast yesterday afternoon didn't materialise afterall. The wind remained strong though and we had a good many of whrumps on the ropes as boats passed us. David took his beer onto the stern deck to enjoy the peace, I didn't as the air was thick with midges and I can still feel them nibbling me just looking at the photo.

Nice sky though.

This morning the air was blue as the mooring "Nappy pins" had become stuck fast, the back rope pin had slipped through the position into the next this was as a direct result of the boats passing us at speed. I really think for the most part the hirers are oblivious, but when twenty or more boats are doing the same it can only damage the armco and cause a man to be aeriated.

Off we went some time later. Drizzle in the air which plays havoc with my hair and has a bad effect on glasses too.

The boat that passed us a while ago was just leaving the first lock of the two here. I thought they must have stopped for water but no. They were a couple from Florida with two small children, one of whom was strapped to the fathers front in a sling. The boat coming into the lock told me that it was their first ever lock (Their hire base is too far away from any locks to be shown how to operate one, I guess a video hadn't helped) so the lady on the boat coming up the lock had taught them.

A bit frightening to my mind, two tiny children, water plus parents who haven't really got a grip on things. But there you are, free choice again.

We made a nice amount of progress, plenty of boats passing us but we didn't catch up with any.

It got towards 1:30pm and I was wanting to be thinking about mooring up for the afternoons tennis.

Now answer me this any women reading this, if you are a passenger and your nearest and dearest is driving, you ask to stop at the next loo, you see one, point it out, What? says the driver, oh sorry we've gone past it now.

Mooring up with David is just like that.

Can we get in? Is it shallow? The hedge is too tall, We'll lose the sun early What there...?

Oh too late, Oh we would have got in... Lets go on.

Not at all annoying.

It was a bit like that today.

Very pretty countryside all along the way. No good here, overhanging trees...

Boats queueing to go down to the Montgomery canal, we had thought of going down but in the end not enough time and David wasn't frightfully keen.

Well eventually as we passed by two moored boats I called out did they have good 4G? Yes not bad he said, so we pulled in in front of them. The two boats were friends travelling together.

But it became apparent that one couple off of the boat furthest away from us had had a big row that morning. As we sat out enjoying the warmth she detailed the row in a clearly audible voice to the crew of the boat in the middle.

Then a generator started up at the furthest point of the furthest boat.

We inwardly groaned, the wife said Oh he'll have that going all afternoon now, (it was something to do with his home brewing). So as you can see we put our chairs way past WaL's bow and it wasn't too bad.

Then it went off. Great.

I was cooking supper when there was a tap on the kitchen side hatch. It was the man who wanted to do his brewing. I would say that the pair of them had had a further row about the generator, as he asked me if I had any objections to him having the generator on for 90 minutes, because if you do I just won't put it on. Well Reader frankly it was said with a deal of passive aggression. He completely caught me on the hop and I could only reply that well yes I guess, but not past 8pm.

Oh no he said absolutely not.

Well it went on and didn't we know it! It turned out that his generator had broken and this one had been lent to him by the other boater, it was the most ghastly tinny loud din, this second man came and apologised for the noise, he said he'd felt sorry for him. The bloody thing was on for way over 2.5 hours.

Next time I will just say what I think....