This is just a quick update, and an apology that so many of you sent comments I completely missed. It was interesting the spam bots were completely silent too, as usually I spend a fair amount of time killing off their inane mutterings. Obviously I’m not attractive enough to lure them in. But enough of that.
We had a very nice time in Dorset and in London, catching up with friends and family and enjoying the weather, which is delightful if you aren’t on a boat or similarly dependent on abundant water. resources. We stayed in the house for a second unplanned week before returning to the boat on Saturday.
On Monday we drove south again, back to bricks and mortar. Low water on the canals is now getting critical. Towards Northampton nearly all the locks are on restricted opening to conserve water resources, there are restrictions in Birmingham, and the route we had taken only a couple of weeks ago through Knowle was closed. We had planned to take the South Stratford down to the River Avon, the reasoning being rivers are less likely to suffer from water shortages (and it’s a beautiful river). Then that closed, because some thoughtless vandals had completely drained the canal; the last thing anyone needs. Another heatwave is coming this weekend. We decided we are better off in the house rather than sitting on the admittedly lovely Saltisford Arm in the heat. Since we got back to Dorset we had a notification from the CRT that the Oxford Canal is closing until we get significant rain, so that’s another route cut off. We don’t know how long we are going to be here, so I think I might paint the lounge – after 7 years it needs it.
