After a night of rain we awoke to a fresh morning. The Iron Lock was problematic because it lacks a ladder. The only lock I’ve ever seen without this useful feature. It meant that Vera had to steer the boat in. As it happened, there was another boat coming down, and they just did the lock for us while we both stayed on board!
Several locks and a shopping trip to Bunbury later, we were about to have lunch when a boat appeared that was heading our way towards the Bunbury locks so we got moving so that we could have a lock buddy. This really does make a big difference, as it effectively halves the work. Vera and Tim did the boats, while Jules and me worked the locks. Vera’s first lock, so make it a double! (double lock, that is)
The next point of high drama was a chicken walking along the towpath. A passing cyclist caused it to jump into the canal. We moored up and Vera went back to check it was OK. It had disappeared among some moored boats. I crossed over at a bridge and found the soaked bird perched on a rail between boat and bank and unable to get out. I lifted it up, the next problem being where to take it. Saw what looked like a chicken coop near where it went in, and crawled through a hedge to reunite her with her flock.
We are now settled into the Badger Inn at Church Minshull, a pub that Sue and I had driven past several times and thought worth a visit. Sadly we never did. It’s a nice pub with great food, and has Titanic Plum Porter on draught.
Vera writes:
I think there comes a time in every mans life when he has no choice but to pull up his “super hero underpants” and show off his super power… my mans power is… wait for it…. “chicken whisperer”!
He moored the boat, ran back up to the lock bridge and over the other side, plucked the drowning hen from the canal, cuddled her under his armpit, drying her with his t-shirt. She was shivering, poor thing.
Then scoured both canal sides for a chicken coop. Finally found one on the other side of a barbed wired fence.
He found a way through … under and over the fence/branches (with the hen under his arm).
He then found the farm house and reported his find to a very surprised farmers wife.
You gotta love him 😍😍😍😍😍
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