A flying visit (by car) to Midland Chandlers on Friday secured some fresh water tank blacking, followed by a quick bite in The Boatman and an up and downer to Foxton Locks, during which a Sparrowhawk gave a brilliant flying display down the towpath past us at head height, then darting into a thicket to disappear.
After work on Saturday, I was able to put the first coat of blacking on the tank, but the sunshine made it really difficult to see what I was doing :o)
The male swan gave us a visit as he waited for his eggs to hatch we gave him a tiny piece of cake and he showed his disdain.
As a reward, we had a quick cruise to Foxton and back.
Sunday afternoon saw me putting on the second coat of blacking in the tank, once again followed by a cruise to Foxton, past the Marina swan's nest, resplendent with half a dozen signets. We were joined for the return trip, just after sunset by Liz's brother Geoff and his wife Liz, a particularly lovely trip in the half light.
Monday afternoon was our first decent cruise of the year up to Saddington Aquaduct, where we were able to moor up in the feeder channel. The sun shone, the birds sang and we just lazed about for an hour or so in that particularly beautiful spot. Strangely, only one other boat was there, by the spillway. Normally you can't find a mooring there when the sun is out.
The return journey was beautiful, the wind had gone, so we just pottered along at 1000 revs in the warm sunshine. With the new silencer, at that speed, all you can hear is the distant mechanical clatter of the engine from under the soundproofed cover, meaning that you can still hear all the canal-side birdsong .... just wonderful.
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