Completely Foxed

We saw an old friend yesterday, moored just above Shardlow Lock, a new resident on that particular piece of canal bank.  Completely Foxed was owned until recently by G&D, as we often find ourselves calling them, a sort of affectionate collective, something often given to people you have only ever known as a couple.  We have spent many happy days cruising with the two of them, an ideal way of spending time with friends, separate accommodation (them on their boat, us on ours) but together, sharing.  Cruising in company is all about the sights, the locks, the hassles, the fun, and of course, the drinks and meals in the pubs, or on one or other boat.

It was G&D who introduced us to `boating` and each in their own way sorted our naivety with hints and gentle advice when needed.  D showed us how to enter a double lock side-by-side and after watching him in the locks or mooring (tieing up, approaching and leaving the canal bank) by imitation we have saved ourselves a lot of agg.  It was G who said, "if it doesn`t fit in the boat, you don`t need it".  Something we`ve never forgotten despite not living aboard all year round like they did.  D told us about inverters, generators, swims, paint ... and all the other things that help towards running your own boat, and hopefully, a carefree(-ish) life afloat.  We owe them much.

But after years afloat they have moved on, and back on land.  Like all boaters, they are quite adventurous and outgoing, as were the couple we met in Shardlow, who bought their boat on the internet without actually seeing her first.  Not that a viewing would have been easy from Melbourne, Australia, from their Alpaca farm.  They`ve sold that, bought somewhere else over there, and the boat, over here, and between the two they will spend their days - or months.  We admired them, and liked them: their attitude, their friendly manner, their optimism.  And they had got themselves a good boat at the right price by the sound of it.  We wish them well, and look forward to seeing Parrindi on the network in the future.

We spent last night at Weston, below the `Ukrainian`, and had music in the background all day today (motorcycles at nearby Donnington Park).  We`ll stay put tonight as the weather is still very blustery and generally wet. We had a walk into Melbourne, Derbyshire or is it Staffordshire, to a Budgens store, and discovered that the new city of Melbourne in Australia is closely related to the one we are moored near.  Apparently, Melbourne Australia was named after the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount of Melbourne (Derbyshire).

Budgens - the New World in the Old World ...

... L. Ward - the Old World in the Old World.




There are reminders of those who went to the New World ...

 

... and evidence of those happy in the old one.