Tuesday 19th June
After our fortuitous 5 day stop at Banbury we have finally moved on today, travelling about 4.5 miles and 4 locks to Cropredy. We are moored on the 48 hour moorings, between the two areas of permit holders moorings, downstream of Cropredy Wharf Bridge.
The day didn’t start too well because when we arrived at the sanitary station in Banbury, with our two full cassettes I might add, we found the elsan disposal to be practically overflowing! A young man appeared clutching a couple of spanners and I asked him if he was there to fix it. He said he had been told there was a flushing problem with one of the loos. The loos however, all proved to be working fine. He had a look at the elsan and decided to call Dynorod or the equivalent.
Meanwhile I really had to empty at least one of my cassettes so I told him I was going to carefully empty it down one of the loos, which I did slowly with Ken chucking buckets of water down as well and there were no obvious disastrous effects!
The rest of the journey passed pleasantly and uneventfully, although I did get licked by a cow over a wall at one of the locks and we arrived at Cropredy about 12-00 pm. The only free mooring before the bridge was on a bend, which may be why there was no one in it but we managed to get in mostly on the straight, with the back sticking out a little bit. The chap in front came out to help and we got chatting, he comes from Norwich and his friend’s wife comes from Bungay, small world.
He said the digital tv signal here was nonexistent (as it had been in Banbury) and he had been unable to get his satellite to work either. Ken got a signal on our satellite within minutes as there was a gap in the trees just where our dish was pointing. I am currently watching the torture that is English Euro 2012 football!
George seems a bit better today after spending all last night pacing up and down (he did this last time he had an anaesthetic) and hardly sleeping. He can get down the steps from the cratch unaided now but still needs help to get up them. His swelling is still there but the pain killers must have kicked in. Unfortunately, he has thus far to do his business today, which is rather unsatisfactory! That said he didn’t eat much yesterday and hasn’t today either so probably doesn’t need to go yet.
Lunchtime Ken and I sampled the wares of the two pubs here. The Brasenose Arms (Adnams Broadside £3-70 a pint!) and The Red Lion (London Pride £3-30 a pint) both very nice. On our return and following a cup of tea and a choccie cake I decided to clean the baked on bird poo of the last 5 days off the boat. This turned into a full scale boat cleaning exercise and took nearly all the rest of the afternoon! I was pleased to get it done though as I haven’t felt like doing it lately. I even cleaned the windows but I might as well not have bothered as they have been well and truly splashed, on the water side, by a load of canoeists and now need doing again!
Tomorrow we are off to Fenny Compton.
