Wedding

Saturday

This morning after walking the dog with Nikita I made use of being on the pontoon with water supply to hose and wash both sides of the boat including roof.

The girls went off to our friends house nearby to make themselves beautiful for our nephew's wedding, leaving me the whole boat to myself so that I might make myself presentable.

The Bride's closest family

With groom's parents

Jason & Priti surrounded by friends

Four brothers

Nikita enjoying the day.

The proud father speech.

Mr & Mrs

The Guildhall was a perfect setting for the ceremony with some very influential faces looking down on the proceedings from hook's on the wall's

Jason and Priti  make a perfect couple and we wish them the very best for their future together.

In Short

Haven't done much today, had our friends and their grandson Alex on board for a short cruise in between locks, they will be dog sitting Sylar tomorrow.

I have organised a mooring for two days on the Environment Agency revenue moorings behind Shepperton lock.

Lunch time I had a beer with friends in The Harrow and in the evening we all had our tea in Thames Court garden.

Both Sue and Nikita have been catching perch and roach at the end of the pontoon whilst I type this.

Doggie paddling pool

Thursday

Girls went into Kingston to do more shopping while I looked after Sylar. Once we were all back on board we cruised back to Shepperton as Mike was collecting Nikita to go and pick her car up from the Thames and Kennet Marina in Reading.

In the evening we were invited to Mike & Viv's for a nice meal, a glass of Abbot Ale and a good laugh. While the two dogs tired themselves out playing in and out of the doggie paddling pool.

Was a great evening ...Thank you.

Bishop of Residence

I was up and out at 0600 hrs with the dog walking from our mooring near Hampton Court Bridge to Kingston Bridge and back. It was a lovely walk along the towpath in the early sunshine, joggers and cyclists were out in force and we met a few hounds and their owners on the way. We arrived back at the boat at 0830 hrs ready for breakfast. I had 2 x bacon, sausage, fried bread, beans, toast, bubble & squeak and coffee in the local cafe over the bridge. The dog had some granular stuff with water on the boat.

We set off about 1100hrs and passed Ravens Ait Island

Pirate type vessel

Kingston hasn't done a great job with its waterside vista's

Kingston upon Thames bridge built-in 1828 to replace an earlier wooden one.

We are now moored on the edge of Bushy Park

The girls went into town for some girlie stuff and Sue was glad to find a Whittards as the one in Windsor had shut down. Sue enjoys the Turkish apple tea which we had run out of, so the cupboard is now well stocked with her favourite blends.

I also went into town when they returned, for a new bicycle pump, some fuses, and a 13ml spanner for that tricky bolt on the fuel filter. I also popped into the Bishop of Residence for a cool drink where I had the most expensive pint I have ever bought £4.75 and it was served in one of those floppy plastic glasses because I wanted to sit in the garden. I won't be going back there in a hurry.

I cooked tea tonight another of my one pot specials . Sausage leek and potato hash.

Daisy

There were a few thunderstorms with rain around the area today so we waited for them to pass and then headed through, Shepperton and Sunbury lock to Molsey Lock to fill the water tank.

The new Walton Bridge only opened for traffic yesterday.

Lara Croft 

Shrek

Pink Floyds Dave Gilmour's recording studio.

Houseboats of all sizes.

Nice stern!

British Waterways Pegasus looking unloved.

Pleasure boat.

At Molsey we picked up two visitors my brother Mike and his golden retriever Daisy. The two dogs got on well as we cruised down to Kingston, turned and returned to moor outside Hampton Court Palace. I bet Henry VIII would never imagine that one day there would be diesel-engined narrow boats  moored at the bottom of his garden

Hampton Court Palace

Daisy

Moored at Hampton Court Palace

Sylar took a shine to Mike.

We took the dogs for a swim in the Thames, Sylar likes to charge in and out the water chasing a ball but Daisy prefers to stay in the water and swim between splashes made by stones thrown by Mike.

Only one brother left to visit.

Inactivity

 Its been another scorcher of a day today , we did plan to move on after Sainsbury's had delivered our groceries but in the end decided to stay put. Sue and Nikita walked into Shepperton to pick up some bits for the dog while I sat on the river bank watching the boats go by.

A surprise visit today from our nephew Jason and fiancee Priti, we are looking forward to attending their wedding next weekend. We all went to Thames Court for refreshment and a catch up. After our visitors left it was back to my favourite inactivity,  watching boats cruising by.

Thames Court

Some good art under a Windsor Bridge which I forgot to put on the blog the other day.

I was up at 0700hrs walking the dog and ended up here outside my parents old house.

We have moved and are now moored at Docket Eddie Lane and we are going to walk to Thames Court.

Had to move from our mooring when a guy got his electric guitar and amp out and started to kill some Elvis songs. It's now 1600hrs and we are moored outside Thames Court. 

Thames Court is where we had our leaving do when we moved to the Isle of Man 16 years ago.

The Thames part of my blog has become a cruise down memory lane.

Ali G

Got going early this morning

Liz is at home to see us off.

Heron

Stopped outside the Slug and Lettuce in Staines for supplies, I was brought up in Staines (so was Ali G

The Swan opposite

We are now moored just above Penton Hook Lock and we have taken Sylar onto the island where I fished when I was a lad. Some friends and I once went all night fishing here and to keep warm we lit a bonfire, I fell asleep to close to the burning embers and awoke to find my parka alight. I notice there are No Fishing without a weir permit signs up now and the small dirt tracks on the island have been opened up to wide pathways for walkers.

Jack Lilley

I had an elderly friend Jack Lilley whom I sold a Freeman 22 and he would tell me how he hated these signs on the Crown Estate stretch of the river.

 Jack you see was a WWW2 veteran, a motorcycle dispatch rider who was evacuated from Dunkirk. After the war he started a motorcycle business which is still going to this day. It was his firm belief that he should be able to moor where he liked on the perfect for mooring banks of the Crown Estate land " I fought for that land I can moor there" he would tell me. I agree with him.

Changing of the Guard

The Watermans Arms wasn't serving food last night so we had a quick drink and went on to The George Inn another dog-friendly pub where we enjoyed excellent food. It wasn't till I got back to the boat and looked at my receipt that I found our drinks had not been included in the bill. I am now panged with guilt so I might have to go back today and put matters right.

These guards are so young.

Changing or the guard at Windsor Castle 

As I was standing at the side of the road waiting for the guards to march past I tried to remember the last time I watched The changing of the guard. It must have been when I was a schoolboy even though I lived most of my life within ten miles of the castle and was a frequent visitor. The band started playing and the guards marched and it brought a lump to my throat and a watery eye. The guard changes at 1115hrs each day except Sundays, the roads are closed to traffic as they march back to barracks it's a wonderful sight and I will make sure I witness it again next time we are in Windsor.

Glyn and Christine joined  us in the evening for a meal at The George 

Queen Vic

I was off the boat by 0545hrs with Sylar this morning for a long walk in the cool early sun. First we had a little play in the park then along the embankment and into town, the councilmen were hard at work already clearing the rubbish and cleaning the paths. We walked up to the Guild Hall and back through the train station, I liked how they have turned this area into a cosmopolitan bistro village, all I can remember being here last time I was here were toilets, a souvenir stall, and a shop selling tartans. Over Eton bridge and along its rows of antique and art shops we trotted and then into The Brocus where Sylar found a mate to play in the water for half an hour, we continued through the field and past the funfair that yesterday had been busy setting  up for the coming fortnight of noisy entertainment and along the opposite bank to where Festina Lente is moored curtains were still shut so we retraced our steps and stopped to play in the park for a while before arriving back at the boat at 0800hrs with a tired and hungry puppy.
Map

I've been dog sitting most the rest of the day while Nikita has been at the hairdressers and Sue has been shopping. Sue and I walked into town when Nikita returned as I needed to buy a replacement brush and some rechargeable batteries for the DAB radio. These Dab radios eat ordinary batteries (Decimate All Batteries)

We are going to  The Waterman Arms an old favourite of ours to see if it has changed any.

Queen Vic is front of the house.

We were frequent visitors to Windsor in our old Thames cruising days as it was a comfortable weekend jaunt from our moorings at firstly Shepperton Marina and then Penton Hook Marina but today is the first time I have felt like a tourist.