When I serviced the engine last week I found that I needed a new water trap for the diesel line so I ordered one from ASAP Supplies; but as I ordered it late Thursday afternoon they couldn’t deliver it until Monday, after we had left Gloucester. A plan was therefore devised, have it delivered to Jer’s house and he would take it to work on Tuesday and deliver it to us at Worcester, surprisingly the plan worked, he even got one of his colleagues, who lives in Worcester to deliver it!
Our journey up from Upton was uneventful and the cathedral looked fine as we approached. We moored up by Sabrina Footbridge, whereupon a council employee relieved us of £3.50 for the privilege, we hadn’t been there ½ an hour when a yoof skimmed a stone across the roof of the boat and another kind boater advised us to move away from the footbridge and moor about 200 yards upstream.
We had time to take a walk into the town centre which we thought, frankly unattractive, there were lots of grand Victorian (?) buildings, none of which seemed appropriately used including a ‘Slug & Lettuce’ pub in the former St Nicholas Church, the pavements were dirty giving the town an uncared for air. We walked back through the Crowngate Shopping Centre next to the bus station and spent the evening watching the canoeists and rowers, the cox on one of the female crewed eights had a voice to do a sergeant major proud, I shouldn’t want to argue with her!!!
As I couldn’t (be bothered to) get any TV reception we listened to Radio 7 on our new DAB radio which worked remarkably well as long as it was near a window. We retired to bed early and listened to a play only to be awoken twice by Catty meowing in the early hours who seemed to be convinced that there was a mouse under our bed!
At about 5 am we were awoken again by a splash and the boat rocking a little; climbing out of bed sleepily I went to the loo while Joy demanded to know Catty’s whereabouts, the mystery was soon solved as she appeared through the cat-flap (which is set to let her in but not out!) very wet and not a little frightened. While Joy towelled her dry we wondered how she had escaped, it turned out to be my fault as I had left the sliding kitchen window open! She had obviously climbed out onto the gunwale and fallen in, but how she managed to climb back out and onto the boat is a mystery and we can only be thankful that she managed to do it on her own.
This morning she is curled up on the settee purring.