Bartimaeus

Yesterday our interests were turned towards Victorian technical development and problem solving, rather than nature. It was an interesting visit and outside my sphere of knowledge so I have learnt some new things.  Impressively it’s run just by volunteers. 

Shane’s been looking ahead to the weather and was planning to visit a marina just beyond Burton upon Trent. We can’t go further along this canal due to planned closures anyway and would have to turn around or stay here. It looks like a windy forecast and manoeuvres in a marina can be quite tricky so we thought being in there ahead of the high wind and riding it out would be good. The weather seemed fine today and he had an afternoon on line chat so we set off to get there in the morning.

When we were going into the marina we were turning left, and Shane was following a sign that said to keep left, when another boat appeared coming towards us, so he had to try and turn across it to pass on the  right. What we didn’t realise was that at that place the wind was tunnelling through and turning at that point meant the wind caught the bow of the boat so Bartimaeus just kept turning which put us side on to the wind only increasing the wind’s control. I went down the front in case fending off the many moored boats was needed. We didn’t hit any boats and I wasn’t required. Coming back I stepped on the edge of the step/ shoe box and it tipped up so I fell in a crumpled heap between shelves and the bed. I thought I had jiggered my back again, but  slowly I managed to disentangle myself so I think it will just be more bruises and at least I wasn’t driving! Meanwhile the boat was turning it’s own merry way 180°. While this was going on the boat behind managed to go past and turn fine, and the boat approaching us found a window of opportunity to slip past. Shane then had to carry on turning and approach wider to continue on our way without difficulty.

Seeing all this happen (and breezing past effortlessly) was the woman we had met in Hopwas waiting for a boat repair and without water. It was good to catch up with her and have a cheery chat. Her boat has kept working but she can’t get through to Nottingham, as planned but she is delighted to find there is a direct train from the nearby village so she is going to meet her friends there even sooner. Serendipity follows those who don’t much worry about their plans.

While Shane had his on line chat I continued knitting and had a short explore of the marina. It has a major array of shops and cafes. We went to the chandler’s when the laptop ran out of battery and he had to leave the chat. Shane wanted some shorter ropes to make a better mooring and reduce the creaky noises. 

As well as a shopping experience, the marina has some nice features like benches and statues, though this one seems a bit fierce.

Having had a successful visit to the Chandlery, we looked at the Indian restaurant. The menu was very tempting and it looked quiet but when we placed an order for a carry out later in the evening, on line, the order was cancelled. I went over and they looked full and said they were just too busy to take any more orders. It is award winning so hope we manage to get something while we are here. I had to rustle up something fast to avoid further hunger and disappointment.

I have managed to finish a cardigan and post about the bunting pattern on the  Women On Barges Facebook group ( they do art and craft topics on a Friday) which had a positive response – a very supportive community. I plan to take the cardigan to a post office so will be visiting the village tomorrow and have picked up a leaflet on walks from the shop, so good timing to be not pressing on anywhere else.