Saturday, 12 March 2011

So who was she?

We collected our mail, including a letter from The Pension Service telling me it is time to claim my state pension.

No wonder I needed the support of the paddle gear at Otherton Lock, a man of my advanced years. We struggled with the wind leaving this one, why do the really strong gusts arrive at the most inconvenient moments?

Oh dear, the yellow peril at Gailey, best make the most of the time left before Easter when the hire boats start chasing rings and the marinas disgorge their contents for the summer. Don't get me wrong, we were hirers for years and I thoroughly enjoy meeting people from all over but, selfishly, we find queueing at locks and having to hunt for a mooring a bit of a bore.

As it's Six Nations this weekend we have moored just beyond Long Moll's Bridge, it's about a mile up the cut from the big chemical works but feels totally rural and we've got a clear shot at the satellite.
The works was known to the working boatmen as the "Black Works" because it originally produced lampblack. For anyone interested I checked it out and lampblack is a finally divided form of almost pure carbon which is has a plethora of uses including dynamo brushes, explosives, matches and as a pigment. So that is that explained but

does anyone know who Long Moll was?
We crossed paths with Ubique, truly sorry to hear they have sold the boat and are leaving the cut, we'll miss their blogging, it is always entertaining.

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