Busy with boats

Saturday, 07 November 2009 20:22

On The Staffs and Worcs Canal

In the Coven/Gailey area it is really busy - for November. At lunch time today 8 boats passed us, going in both directions.

Perhaps those going towards Gailey are trying to beat the stoppage at the lock which begins on Monday.

Gailey Lock

One hire boat passed - Napton Narrowboats, we presume from their hire base at Autherley Junction.

Napton Narrowboats

We travelled into Penkridge (Market Day today) on the 76 bus from Coven Heath, picked up my 'scrip' and then caught the bus back to Dobbies Garden Centre for lunch and to buy winter pansies for the pots on the roof (at last!).

Catching the bus from there back to Coven, (pronounced Coe-ven) I had time to plant them all up. So now, once they have settled down, we should have a decent display instead of dead plants!

I put in my bulbs and hope I will have as good display as I did last year

To finish the day off I made Chicken and Lentil Curry - a recipe from Stave Haywood's new book "One Man and a Narrowboat". The book is a revised "Fruit Flies Like a Banana", with some additional material. I have always wondered about the latter title - now I understand! There is a lot of information about Tom Rolt and his trip in "Cressy", interwoven with Steve's own similar journey and experiences

The book is a good read - funny in parts. Appropriately, I bought it in Banbury, where "Cressy" was built, and managed to get one with Steve's scrawl on the fly-leaf! The recipe tasted good too!