Outing in the sun

We hadn't seen John and Becky (my niece) for years, let alone Martha and Lydia who came to play. So we met up at the Bournville moorings and, since we were facing that direction, set off towards Stratford.

John was the first to take over the tiller, when he wasn't doing the hunter-gatherer thing of collecting elderflower heads for his waiting demijohn.

Martha and Lydia ably assisted in all aspects of the day, starting the engine, sounding the horn, adjusting the speed, eating cake, stopping the engine, feeding the ducks and moorhens, correcting their parents' steering, eating more cake and not falling in.

Becky brought us back with a sure hand on the tiller, with a slight tendency to over-correct when being distracted by daughters asking questions.

There was time to get down to the winding hole past Bridge 9A, which means we got to do the electric Shirley Draw Bridge twice. It was coming back that a driver tried to jump the lights and nearly got caught by the descending barrier, much to the amusement of everyone sitting on the patio of the Drawbridge pub, for whom this is clearly a regular Saturday entertainment.

An excellent day – great to catch up with family, and to get acquainted properly with Martha and Lydia. Thank you all, (and for the scrummy strawberries, meringue and cream).