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Published: August 19th 2013
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I caught the bus into Tamworth to meet an ex-colleague who was visiting for a few hours. A request to be set down at the station resulted in the bus driving past it and eventually setting me down half a mile away. As the station is on a vast one-way roundabout I couldn't find where the return stop was so we went back to the boat by taxi instead as Sam is unable to walk very far. As I was moored at
The Tame Otter, we went there for lunch and left immediately after looking at the menu – just a bit too fancy for us.
The Red Lion was much friendlier.
After lunch we pootled past the Hopwas back gardens which ran right down to the towpath and an hour later was looking for the best place to moor at Fazeley Junction – not beyond the junction, near a road for Sam to get a cab back to the station and not too far from the Tesco Express – as I'd never been here it was a little hit-and-miss, especially as
I was effectively single-handed. I suddenly realised I was running out of options and was about to pull over to the left and moor (unlike on our roads, boats travel on the right) when another boat hove into view, looking as if they were heading for the same spot. I put
Dunlin into neutral, then gently reversed in as straight a line as possible – and still the other boat crept along. By the time I'd made friends with some buddleia on the opposite bank it had become clear that the other boat
didn't want the mooring - I barely had space to get there myself without hitting yet another boat at the water point, whose owner sauntered towards the potential mooring site as if to help and then put his hands in his pockets, started whistling and turned away. Desperate measures were needed; I called out, 'If you were thinking of offering help I'd accept very gracefully' and beamed at him – it worked! He caught my centre line and held firm, effectively giving me the chance to jump ashore with the stern line. Then he asked if we could pull the boat back a length so that he
Two bridges at Hopwas had these little cupboards.
As the door on this bridge was in poor repair I peeked in - inside were stored the planks used to block off the canal in an emergency - neat idea. could also pull back from the water point now that his water tank was full. It should have been so easy but moving backwards meant
Dunlin was on a curve, so we'd bump and crash every time another boat passed. So we moved back about 3 boat lengths in the end and then pulled his boat back as well. Mooring usually takes about 5 minutes max – this was a 15 minute jobbie but we are settled very well against the side.
In case you're wondering why there's nothing about Tamworth, despite being so close – we'll be going even closer a little later on so I was leaving it till I'd visited properly. Just to keep you going though – Tamworth was a Saxon settlement, the capital of Mercia in Offa's time and was then called Tomtun.
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today's title...
sounds like the title of a folk song. Must be the time we've spent at the Broadstairs festival of same, a good few unusual names for songs and groups, "Another Mystery Plant" would easily fit in as a group name - although if we could find the Latin name for it I think that would invoke some imaginative thinking...alas my flower book didn't help this time. S