Last days of the cruising season.

We left FL a few days in the new Dunchurch Pools marina while we headed to Stafford for Sue's Birthday dinner at the Shimla Palace.

Red sky at Dunchurch.

A good night with great company.

Happy Birthday from the Management

On a sunny day we caught the train to Wolverhampton to help our friends get NB Klara down the 21 locks on the BCN mainline. Great weather for lock wheeling, after a delayed start while C&RT fixed a broken paddle we whizzed down the flight.

A Freaky Friday (20% discount day) visit to Midland Chandlers to spend this months pension cheque, Sue insisted we needed a new oven/grill ...fair enough.... the oven does sometimes extinguish its flame, invariable this occurs mid bread baking and is accompanied by door slamming and on occasion an expletive, a new 12v fridge was ordered also because freezer compartment doors should be vertically hinged and not horizontally!

A gas installation engineer will fit the new oven this week, it's a little wider and will need minor alteration to the housing, the fridge we could deal with ourselves ..........the old fridge was snapped up by a K&A project boat owner on fleabay.

I've been getting FL's paintwork ready for the short days and long nights with a good clean and polish. The three fuel line filters, engine oil/filter and gearbox oil were all  renewed when the engine was shut down for the last time this year.

On a Sunday we had a lovely lunch with my sister,  niece and her number one son in the twofer in Braunston.

We go home for the first time in more than two years next week. We both need MOT's at  the doctors while we are there.  After that we head for Spain for the winter......... don't the years speed up the older you get.

Merry Christmas.

South Oxford Canal.

Since leaving the Thames we have pootled to the end of the South Oxford canal, been along this beauty of a canal so often there is not a lot more I can write about it. As this is our diary a few pictures will do.

The canal shares a stretch of water with the river Cherwell between Shipton Weir lock and Bakers lock.

Conditions were normal.

Pigeon lock.

Dashwood lock.

Heyford Common lock.

Cropredy lock bridge( canoes take a short cut)

Clocks go back this month!

Sue was helping at the lock while I waited to take FL into one of the Claydon locks,  Two ladies from a hire crew walking past to the next lock commentated "We have decided that your wife is the nicest person we have met on the canal".

Adkins lock

Bridge 100 (unnamed we call it Skinny bridge)

Maybe a blogger first - two together.