Up with the larks this morning to watch the 2nd F1 practice at Shanghai (and the replay of the 1st practice - I wasn't so keen that I needed to get up at 3am!). It was worth it as well because I got to see the lovely (but very cold) sunrise:
A light mist rising off the water added to the ethereal nature of the view, and even the busy road over the bridge in the background and the equally busy main line railway a few hundred yards away, didn't spoil the moment.
A bit later on it got cold and misty, but the sun eventually burnt that off and the day turned out very nice indeed. We moved on into Atherstone and enjoyed quite a bit of retail therapy in the good variety of shops, and then set about the flight of locks ahead, after lunch and using BW's well positioned facilities.
Just as we were about ready to move across to use the lock, another two boats snuck in in front of us. The second boat's ageing captain told us that he only wanted to wind (turn around) but that he was a beginner and might not be as efficient as some. I offered to shout advice if necessary.
It was necessary - he hadn't understood what I'd suggested he should do and got sideways across the lock entrance with minimal chance of turning successfully. So I backed across behind him and offered to help from onboard his boat. He and his elderly and infirm wife were very grateful and said yes please as he was still very much a learner. So I took over and tried to show him how to do it properly. I'm not too sure that he really learnt much - maybe I should have just instructed him on how to do it, but they were very happy and it got us under way a bit quicker, so we left them to moor up and enjoy Atherstone as we'd just done.
Here we are, still waiting for another boat to come up the lock after all the fun and games. Eleven locks later, and a few more minor dramas, and we found a very nice quiet spot to moor before Polesworth. Another bitterly cold night in store, but tonight we have a small stock of firewood courtesy of a little hardware shop in Atherstone, so the boat is really cosy tonight.
A bit later on it got cold and misty, but the sun eventually burnt that off and the day turned out very nice indeed. We moved on into Atherstone and enjoyed quite a bit of retail therapy in the good variety of shops, and then set about the flight of locks ahead, after lunch and using BW's well positioned facilities.
Just as we were about ready to move across to use the lock, another two boats snuck in in front of us. The second boat's ageing captain told us that he only wanted to wind (turn around) but that he was a beginner and might not be as efficient as some. I offered to shout advice if necessary.
It was necessary - he hadn't understood what I'd suggested he should do and got sideways across the lock entrance with minimal chance of turning successfully. So I backed across behind him and offered to help from onboard his boat. He and his elderly and infirm wife were very grateful and said yes please as he was still very much a learner. So I took over and tried to show him how to do it properly. I'm not too sure that he really learnt much - maybe I should have just instructed him on how to do it, but they were very happy and it got us under way a bit quicker, so we left them to moor up and enjoy Atherstone as we'd just done.
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