Round trip

It was great to have been back down south for our church's camping weekend. The weather was kind and the location was ideal. We'd only gone about half-a-mile to the campsite, but it really did feel as though we all gone away. The boards showed everyone what was going to happen.

The sun was still shining for the barbecue on the Saturday evening.

As it happens, this was the one weekend that Nº 3 son and his bride (well, it's not yet a year) were able to come and see us. So we had a good day with them and then went up to the BBQ where he caught up with, and she met for the first time, some old acquaintances.

After the BBQ it was "Bransgore's Got Talent" – an opportunity for Phil the church leader to do his ventriloquist act with Shirley his wife, rather than with Jiminy the puppet.

 Extra chairs were needed for the Sunday morning service.

A good time was had by all!

Monday we packed and came up to Erin Mae. I'd thought I would see whether I could re-wire the batteries myself, but the negative leads are looking more complex than I remembered, and I think I might need to get an expert to work on it. So instead of buying bits and bobs and making a start, we've been doing not-a-lot. We've got settled in ready for a summer's cruising, but next week we're flying to Norway for five days, so we've been in limbo. The weather hasn't even been kind enough to tempt us to go down to Tixall Wide to test the solar panel in the wild.

So this afternoon we went for a walk in the NT grounds above the canal at Great Haywood, on land that is part of the old Shugborough estate, but on the opposite side of the river, canal and railway from the house itself. We walked up the track down which the servants used to walk from their cottages, across some fields where sheep were grazing, and found our way down to the caves we'd heard about.

You wouldn't think there was anything like this above you as you cruise the canal but, truth to tell, there's not a lot to see. There was some landslip and the area had been cordoned off to stop you getting into difficulties. Even the graffiti was nothing extraordinary. So we found our way back out and looped back to the iron bridge over which the gentry would drive their carriages. On the way we passed a grove of lime trees.

An internet search indicated that they were sometimes used to provide areas of shade, and that was the only reason that came to mind why this circle should have been planted here.. This chappie, seemed to appreciate it, anyway.