What a Lark!: Where has all the signal gone?

The next morning after a damp start, all rain welcome, we set off again. The bloody foot not too bad this morning. From here above the locks at Grindley, it's a lock free run for miles, but five annoying lift bridges to do in a relatively short distance. I managed to do them getting off WaL very gingerly.

I am always reminded of Pauline from NB Waterlily, she is a young slip of a thing and with gay abandon leapt off her boat on the Thames, slipped down a hole, broke her ankle, husband Neil had to carry her back onboard, (That alone would have killed my husband carrying me, I think he'd of dragged me) and then get her to the nearest hospital.

Did the first bridge, no problem, did the second as it was under repairs and chained open. At the third David just about avoided a private boat haring towards him and the uplifted bridge.... the other boat finally reversed to avoid a collision and after WaL had gone though called to "Sorry I supposed I should of waited!!"

Third bridge was down but a single hander was there and waiting for another boat to come and operate it for her... I was slightly miffed as I would have quite liked someone to do one for me, but there was virtually no pull in space for a single hander to operate it, for non boaters, single handers have to tie up on the wrong side, here there was no space just one bollard to tie your front rope to, scramble off the boat, operate the bridge, scramble back onboard, drive the boat through, tie up the back of the boat on to one bollard, scramble off through the nettles, lower the bridge and chug away.

After all the bridges my foot was aching.

I had been trying to book flights, I haven't told my mother yet but we are going back to New Zealand after Christmas to visit our daughter Verity, son-in-law Mitchell and the baby Xanthe, frequently flyers to this blog with remember that I went our last August to help after her birth, well she's almost a year now, we'll miss her party but...

The internet along this canal and from what I can remember the Shropshire Union canal was hopeless last time we were here. During the course of the phone call to the agent, we were cut off several times. I said to the agent that if necessary David would drive me to a bigger town tomorrow so I could get signal.

So we arrived at Ellesmere. David took the bike and did a flit to Tesco while I sat with ice on bloody foot and tried to download the required App into which all the tickets and boarding passes (and payment!) must be made. Call me old fashioned but I like the ticket in my wallet....

Now I know it's hard to see but this is armco, these are trees that we believe have been cut back previously and now sprouting with vigor. Unchecked (Or killed off) this will surely damage the armco.

I think I said that we were moored up in a town and the penny dropped with the agent that we weren't at home, I bet she thought I was mad saying David will drive me to get signal!

We moored a little further on outside Ellesmere, by a house in which lives an ex-boater. He likes having the line of moorings and indeed chatted to David for some considerable time. He mows the towpath here, has a big Buddleia which was covered in butterflies, has regular moorers on and there's a long layby too for many dog walkers and boaters too.

A mooring made in heaven.