Bartimaeus

People often ask us where our home mooring is. We don't have one, which means we don't have to go back to the same place, we can keep exploring. Now that we have really slowed down we are visiting more places as we travel through. Last time we were at Bratch Locks we were coming the other way. We did have a bit of an explore before we did them. We didn't manage to find the fairy castle water works and we didn't go into the village of Wombourne. This time we remedied both of those.

We were greeted with a colourful centrepiece by the park. A maypole may have been originally here, but now it is a statue of ribbons and a mosaic of local symbols. We had seen the Staffordshire flag recently on a boat, with its knotted rope symbol. 

Shane had remarked that it was a shame it was placed in front of the public toilets, but it was good news that the public amenity existed and they had at least made a feature of its proximity to the art by marking the doors with a boy and girl maypole dancer, mimicking the pole. I am not sure there were any boys on the pole mind you. 

We went to see if there was a bakery. There was but it did but not open late. We can try getting fresh bread in the morning. The ice cream shop was open though, so we timed that right, especially since last time we were in the area it wasn't in business. It had its own wafer garnish that proclaimed it had been in business since 2025.

There was a church depicted in the mosaic and a sign, so we went to see it, finishing our ice creams first. The church was very colourful inside with pillars decorated with children's collages.

They were an unexpected splash of colour and I took in one that explicitly focussed on colour with a rainbow on it. The rainbow has been a symbol of mercy, hope and peace for a very long time and here the theme of liking other people and appreciating that difference and unity can go together like the colours of the rainbow, being helpful to others and being friends. 

I was also taken with the colourful array of Hassocks. There were many themes. Birds and flowers and peace doves and the word Gloria were all expected themes. The trombone was more of a surprise and the dice seemed out of place, and some I didn't understand. I saw only the one musical instrument.

On my way out I saw there was a display of photographs from weddings and baptisms, an unusual touch.

I went out to find Shane in the graveyard. The church was attractive outside and I was amused that the Revelations quote seemed to suggest a walk-in IT helpdesk. At work Shane very much preferred an email help desk to allow systematic logging of queries and not interrupting those trying to concentrate.  People could ask any time, just not by barging in.

We walked back and sat outside for our dinner. Just as we finished we were surprised by a kingfisher alighting on the edge, where the mooring rings and bollards were. We had just been discussing that kingfishers like an overhanging branch and not flat surfaces like a path, or vertical sticks like reeds, but here was one sitting on the flat tiles. They are still surprising us. It flew off. A man passing chatted to us and we mentioned seeing it. He said this area was good for kingfishers. That was good news that we were about to travel through a kingfisher area.

In the morning Shane had a successful visit to the bakery. before we set off. There was a boat coming out of the lock and we waited till they had passed. They asked if we were alright. We replied we were fine, we were just taking it slow.

We let another pass later and again they asked if we needed help. It is good that others are so willing to check if we need anything, but we are just going very much slower than other boats. We caught up with that boat again at a lock and as I went up to help, I had a chat about engines and batteries. The driver asked lots of questions but almost knew all the answers himself. How did he know it was an Ortomarine boat when it doesn't say so on it? 

I was amused at this lock that there was an overhanging gate above a significant drop. I had noticed so all was well, but the warning sign wasn't visible until after I had made my way round the end, and in any case was barely visible. I chose afterwards to clamber over rather than, swing round over the drop.

In the afternoon we saw a kingfisher fly past. As we approached it flashed off forwards again. The sun was making it easy to see. I went to the front to get a better view. It then did that thing we had thought they didn't - sit on a reed. Admittedly it was a thick and bent reed.

I had an excellent view. Just as I was starting to take pictures it took off again flying forward. They are so quick.

Earlier in our travels I had spotted  another terrapin. Being not brilliantly coloured, and also still, they attract no attention until you are level with them. I could see that the half submerged stone/log had a distinctive shell pattern. And it had a detached head a couple of inches away. The word "Terrapin!" failed to come readily and I just said stop as we were almost past it. Shane put on hard reverse and it slipped away under the water. I should have said 'slow' or 'look' then we might not have disturbed him. We love seeing the wildlife but we are travelling through their home uninvited and should try not to make them feel unsafe, and that way we will see them all the better.   

We got moored up and are in plenty time before we have to head off to Edinburgh, so we can explore the area we are in. Shane has a cycle ride planned and we are mindful of the fluctuations in the weather just now and planning accordingly As Dolly Parton said, "If you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain" and there is plenty of rain on the way.