Thursday 21st October
We have just spent a couple of days here in Rugeley. There was a really hard frost yesterday morning when we got up and it took me quite some time to undo my mooring rope when we were ready to leave Great Haywood. It resembled a cardboard snake sitting on the front of the boat after I did get it undone! It was a lovely bright, crisp day though and the journey to Rugeley was quite pleasant.
When we arrived here we first moored up near Bridge 67. This was fine until I put my foot down on what I thought was solid ground beside the boat, as I went to get on after we moored up and it disappeared down beside the boat! We got the shears out and cut the grass and weeds away to find a large piece of the bank had crumbled away. Once we knew where the gap was it would have been ok for us but it wouldn’t have been very good trying to get George back on in the dark later. We took George for a walk up the towpath to see if there were any moorings further up near Bridge 66. There were some better ones through the bridge so when we got back to the boat we moved up.
Morrison’s is just over the road from bridge 66 so it is very convenient for shopping, especially for those of us who have destroyed their barrow! We made a foray there for a paper and some bits then we made a foray into the Wetherspoon’s! Next door to the Wetherspoon’s is a Francesco’s, the same hairdressing chain that I had my hair cut at in Stone. We were standing outside and I was debating whether I wanted to get my hair cut now or wait until we got to the marina when Ken shoved me through the door, pointed to my head and said to the woman behind the desk ‘We want something done with this’! ……………………………………. So, today I have had my hair cut – for only the third time since we left Leicester in April actually.
Previous to this, we had a look round the town and discovered a Wilkinson’s, where we went in for a couple of 59p soup mugs and ended up spending £52 (as you do)! With Francesco’s being next to the Wetherspoon’s you may be forgiven for thinking Ken would be waiting in there while I was in the hairdressers! Well, he was in there when I came out but he hadn’t been in there all the time, apparently!
We were just on our last pint when Mick and Cathy caught up with us again! They had stayed at Great Haywood yesterday and gone into Stafford on the bus so Cathy could get her hair cut – while Mick waited in the Wetherspoon’s funnily enough!
Tomorrow we are off to Fradley Junction where we may go up the Coventry for a bit to waste some time because we are going to get to the marina too soon at this rate.
