Saturday – A Visit to Crick Show
We had arranged to meet our friends and wannabe boaters Barry & Ruth at the Canalchef Cafe for lunch and after (me) enjoying an excellent Full English and the others more modest fare we set off, replete and chauffeured by Barry to the show.
Barry & Ruth looked at boats while we wandered around the stands where we were tempted to part with our ‘hard-earned’ money. Some stands were singularly unsuccessful, as despite singing the praises of their products (we were looking for varnish and USB charging points) had none to sell on their stalls, advising us to order on-line or visit one of their stockists.
In the end, however, we purchased some Le Tonkinois Varnish which we were assured was ‘The Business’ being a linseed oil based product with no petroleum based solvents. We were also fortunate to find the USB charging sockets we wanted on Brian Ward Marine Equipment’s stand, they were also kind enough to respond to my cheeky request for discount as I was buying two!
Our major purchase however was a Fuel Guard Decontaminator / Water Separator as their demonstration was very convincing. We’ve fortunately never suffered from this sort of problem but this piece of kit should ensure we don’t.
Sunday – A Visit to Church, Chandlers and some Mechanics
We went to morning service at St John the Baptist’s church at the bottom of the locks where we received a warm welcome and enjoyed both the lovely old church and the service. A nice atmosphere and a growing church, we felt.
After lunch I walked (!) to The Canal Shop to buy some fittings needed for the new Fuel Guard filter and dodged a light shower on the way back.
Of course, fitting the unit was not just a matter of replacing the existing water trap, as mounting hole spacing was different and the inlet & outlet connections were the opposite way round so it involved making up new pipework too. It was achieved in a couple of hours though in time to enjoy toad in the hole which Joy had made meanwhile and a restful evening in front of the telly.
Monday – Onwards to Rugby
Today it was time to say goodbye to Hillmorton so it was down the three (duplicate) locks and after filling with water we headed on down to Rugby Visitor Moorings where we found a convenient space to moor up.
We’ve had spot of lunch and now to compile a shopping list for Tesco’s.
