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70 now and our five wonderful years aboard our narrowboat Skyy seem along time ago. Jacquie, allowed me to build my replica three wheeler kit car, which was a great success. Now it's time to start on a bigger project and that is to make a good Triumph Stag even better, here goes.

Monday, 7 May 2012

STEAK OUT


THURSDAY 3RD TO SUNDAY 6TH MAY 2012                                  

Rain again, but we had made the decision to move on. The ten day forecast suggested that buying a couple more bags of coal would be prudent and we picked these up at Alvecote on the way to the Glascote lock, at the locks we met up again with Peter and Barbara of N.B. Barbara Jane, they were only out for a few weeks, disappointed and fed up with the cold and had decided to turn round and return to their marina and who can blame them.

We kept going through the Fazeley Junction and stopped at the pretty village of Hopwas. Determined to have a drink in the pub we wandered into the smart and very busy Tame Otter, but Duggie wasn’t welcome, the other side of the road bridge was the Red Lion, were Duggie was most welcome, this pub didn’t have the style of the Otter but was relaxing.

On Friday morning I walked the pooch which was made all the more enjoyable by a chat with a bird watcher, who turned out to be very normal and John and Margaret of N.B. Sammy Jo, who stopped their boat to talk and remind me that we had met at Tattenhall Marina in June in 2010. When I arrived back at SKYY there was an Email from Janet of N.B. Parsons Passage asking if we could meet up whilst they were out cruising over the bank holiday weekend. Having arranged a meet up at Huddlesford on Saturday evening, we caught the bus from Hopwas to Lichfield and enjoyed a few hours wandering the attractive streets and visiting the cathedral of this diminutive city.


One hour of pleasantly dry, but cold cruising on Saturday morning brought us to The Plough at Huddlesford. Fortunately the latest copy of Towpath Talk informed me that this pub has only just reopened, good timing, not that we were planning to eat there, just a drink together before Janet cooked dinner on their boat. Peter, a butcher brought with him four lovely steaks, provided by their local doctor, a little worrying, invoking thoughts of Sweeney Todd, but I knew better than to ask awkward questions however Peter assured me that this was a doctor turned farmer, specialising in Short Horn cattle; the steak and the company made for a very enjoyable evening.



We said farewell on Sunday morning and pushed on through the pretty, but busy Fradley Junction onto the Trent and Mersey Canal, making the most of this relatively warm and sunny Bank Holiday Sunday. Jacquie took the helm for a while and just before our fifth lock we moored at Alrewas, saying Hi to Steve of Wayward Spinner who was also moored nearby. We shall stay here for a few days, enjoying the walks around this pretty village and taking the opportunity of returning by bus to Lichfield.

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