Scary encounters

You know those films where the nose of a submarine suddenly surfaces from a featureless ocean? Well it was a it like that today as we were tootling down the North Oxford between Hillmorton and Braunston. The little day boat in front of us had been going frustratingly slowly for an hour, virtually coming to a halt at every obstacle. Coming to a narrow bridge, offset so we couldn't see the canal beyond, they crawled through and were were just about to follow through when an enormous black prow emerged through the bridge hole, just like the submarine I was referring to. Slamming Herbie into reverse I backed off and who should come through the bridge but Sarah and Jim on Chertsey. Oh well, if Herbie was to be demolished and sunk in a collision with a leviathon, I suppose I would rather it was them than a stranger. Greetings were briefly exchanged and we motored on the Braunston where we now rest near the Admiral Nelson for the final night of our cruise. On the way through we spotted NbValerie and would have stopped to say hello to Les and Jaq, but sadly NbV was padlocked up so they must have been out somewhere.

Two days ago we had another startling encounter. Rick had been with us since we got to the top of the Ashby, and since we made good time on the way back we decided to detour into Coventry. The day was hot and sunny and everything was going swimmingly until we came to an overhanging weeping willow on a narrow part of the canal.

There being no way to avoid this green curtain we ploughed on through like you do, little realising what was hidden on the other side.

Yes, a whopping gert elder tree growing half way across the canal. By the time we were able to see it, it was too late and we couldn't avoid it scraping all along Herbie's starboard side. Some of the branches were pretty thick and now Herbie's paintwork bears the scars. I need to take advice on how to get rid of them, they might come out with some T Cut perhaps. I have a good mind to sue CRT for damages for not dealing with this hidden obstacle.

All is not running as smoothly with our new loo as we he hoped. The loo itself is fine but the "exhaust" hose where it exits the boat seems to be leaking fumes back into the cupboard it passes through. This morning we stopped off at Hillmorton where the loo was fitted and Richard re-sealed it. Unfortunately, in doing so he unavoidably released a fair bit of pong inside the cupboard until he refitted the fan. Now we have to wait to see if the pong in the cupboard disperses. If not we will have to get him to look at it again.

On a more positive note, our new domestic batteries which we also bought at Hillmorton have yet to drop below 92% charged overnight despite the fridge working hard in the hot weather and us watching a fair bit of tennis on TV.

 

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