Sunday 7th November
Is there anybody there? Or have you all died of boredom over the Summer? Here I am with news of life in Mercia Marina. Fear not dear reader, I am not about to blather on incessantly, week after week, about the minutiae of what we are up to now we’ve stopped cruising for the Winter. Which would actually not be dissimilar to the minutiae of what we get up to while we are cruising, ie shopping and going to the pub, only without the travel! No, I thought you may just like a little update of our first week here.
We arrived last Monday morning and have settled in to our mooring. There is a space between us and the next boat starboard and there is a boat on the pontoon with us to port. On the starboard side we have liveaboards with a lovely dog called Paws, who like George, doesn’t like other dogs very much so it is perhaps a good thing we aren’t right next door! On the port side we have Peter and Janet who live in Derby and just come down to the boat every once in a while.
Mick and Cathy are on the same walkway as us but their pontoon is further along, nearer the bank. I will have to post a couple of photos so you can see the sort of layout I am describing here. We have met some of the moorers here and they all seem very nice. There is an excellent facilities block with very swish loos and showers and a well equipped laundry at the end of our row of pontoons. The dryer only costs £1 a time (compared to £2 at MGM) and we have been here a week and only used £5 worth of electric (we were putting £20 per week in last winter) so we are well pleased.
George has had a bit of difficulty judging where the pontoons end and the water begins (especially in the dark) and has only just stopped trying to walk straight off the edge every time I take him out! It is a bit confusing for him I suppose because the pontoon where we are moored joins on to the longer pontoon ( the walkway) and this is only attatched to the land at either end. So, if he walks to the end of our pontoon and across the walkway he will fall over the side!
There is also a coffee shop here which we have yet to try but will give it a go sooner or later. The village is a 10 min (for us) 30 min (for George) walk and has all the facilities (pubs and a Coop) we need. We have been into Burton a couple of times on the bus, which incidentally, stops right outside the Wetherspoon’s, already and bought up practically the entire contents of Wilko’s and Farmfoods!
Unfortunately it is a little bit too far to walk to Burton from the marina. Last year we walked into Leicester once a week which took an hour and a half but Burton would take a couple of hours I should think. We may do it once just to see, Ken needs the exercise!
Since we have been here we have made a start on all the sorting out jobs we have been putting off for the last year! Bow lockers, cupboards, under the dinette, under the bed, the back room – it’s endless! Ken has also found time to do some fishing and has caught some at last, there really are fish in here, hurrah!
So, keep periodically popping back here just in case something earth shattering has happened!
