A bridge's brickwork normally (I think) drops down straight into the water on the "off-side", as here. Yesterday's didn't! Ah well, most of the brickwork we've encountered has been better to look at than the back of the Armitage Shanks factory at (you've guessed it) Armitage, where (again, I think) all those toilets are made.
My guess is that prettifying the canal side and replacing the broken windows would add nothing to the bottom line, so is of no interest to the firm. The people passing are probably not their biggest customers. Mind you, their website has a link to their charity, and reads "Over the last two centuries, Armitage Shanks has become part of the very fabric of life in the UK. Our outstanding, innovative products have been welcomed into businesses, schools, stadiums, charities and homes. And now we want to say thanks." So perhaps an email to the board might have an impact.
We encountered some people today who certainly responded positively to need. There was Bob, a CRT volunteer on the top lock at Fradley.
He was not only helping boaters up and down, but also educating Thomas in what it was all about.
Thomas got a lesson or two from my best beloved as well.
There was another CRT volunteer at Wood End lock, a lady, who was also logging the boats coming through. She was very helpful (an absolute brick!), but this time I didn't get a photo and I didn't learn her name. We then came all the way up to Armitage, through the narrows and have tied up outside The Ash Tree.
We stopped briefly outside The Plum Pudding before the narrows, but concluded from their prices that it's a place for a special occasion. Tonight it'll be the 2-for-1 offer at the Ash Tree, and the specials menu looks as good as it ever has!
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