Delaying the inevitable

I was quite glad when NB Two Jays overtook us just as we were getting ready to go this morning. It meant we wouldn't get back to Great Haywood quite so quickly. But these last two locks of the Staffs and Worcs don't hold you up very much anyway. So we meandered slowly past Baswich and Milford, so slowly in fact that the boat behind caught us up as we got near to Tixall lock.

It was lunch-time, so we called a halt at Tixall Wide. Perhaps we could stay the night. Mo and Mike on NB The Great Escape hooted as they went by, just as we had done to them a little earlier. In the end, we decided just to do it, so we crept at snail's pace past the multitude of moored boats on the cut into and away from Great Haywood junction, and turned very slowly into the marina and around to our mooring.

Connected the hook-up. Now there's a novelty: no electric problems to worry about for a little while. In fact, first thing this morning we rang a boat electrician recommended by the chandlers, and will probably meet up on Monday to see if we can work out what's taking all the juice. Meanwhile it's autumn spring-clean time. Spruce up everything we can in preparation for six months away.

Perhaps there might be time for just one more little excursion before winterisation…