Murder on the canal? The delights of Coventry.

Leaving Hawkesbury a couple of other boaters asked us where we were heading.  When we told them Coventry they visibly blanched and acted as though we had said Afghanistan!  These people have never ben to Brentford.

However we began to wonder if they were right when a towpath walker hailed us saying that we might not make it to the basin because a body had been found in or near the canal and police were cordoning it off.  Gulp!!

We had no choice but to press on towards the city centre because there was nowhere to turn round.  Eventually we saw a policeman and a barrier, but the barrier was only across the towpath and we were able to pass without hindrance, although under the gaze of the copper I couldn't help looking shifty and I expect he was mentally putting us on the suspect list.

Coventry has a fair bit not to like, but like the curate's egg it is very good in parts.   We took Peter round the cathedral, and on the way back to the boat did a quick turn around the Transport Museum which was surprisingly good.  We'll definately go back there and take a longer look -and its free!  In the evening we met up with Peter's old university pals Matthew and Sally.  Matthew steered us (on foot) past the Theatre and the Award Winning Car Park (only Coventry could have one of them) to a very fine pub called the Gatehouse where beer is cheap and delicious, food is cheap and cheerful and the staff are enthusiastic.  It is also apparently one of the few pubs in Coventry that has a garden, which was a good thing as it was still scarily warm for the time of year.  We kept glimpsing signs to Medieval Spon Street which we will have to save for another visit.

I particularly like this old canal side power station converted into something or other.

The numbers on the side represent tthe number of electricity subscribers each year when the station was first opened, rising slowly at first and then exponentially.

I also like how they have kept other reminders of its past function.

and perhaps most of all, how the lettering across the building leaps through space and ends up on the side of the adjacent (alarmingly thin) block of flats.

The previous night we dined at the Greyhound in Hawkesbury and had the best food I can remember in a long long time.  Someone there can really cook.  A strong contender for this year's Herbie Awards.

After a week of dining out, Peter has now left us and we are back to cooking for ourselves out in the sticks north of Nuneaton.  Which brings me to Peter's suggestion of a good blog headline.

CANNIBALS ATTACK CONVENT - NUNEATON!