Hoo Mill 'ere we go!

As I said in yesterdays blog, we have been invited to a weekend bash up at Hoo Mill next weekend and so we took Minnow up there today. I had a doctors appointment at 10.15am first which I did not get out of the surgery until after 11.00 then came home to pick Dawns car up so that we could leave mine at Hoo Mill for when we got there. After dropping my car off, we returned home and picked up a couple of things then we were off down the moorings. I put the lamp on the Bolinder and by 12.30 we were off reversing back to the entrance to the marina to wind. The wind was blowing a gale and with the boat clothed up for the winter the journey was a nightmare with Minnow ‘crabbing’ along all the open stretches like Taft Farm and approaching Shugborough. As we approached Hoo Mill Lock, we were greeted by Laney who had heard us coming and she had run down to help us through and tell us where to moor. By 4.30pm we were tying up alongside Andy and Laney’s 60’ livaboard and spent the next hour drinking coffee and catching up on gossip with the main topic of conversation being Andy’s forthcoming ‘weekender’ Some other working boats are expected including Trout, Monarch, Dove and England as well as some old cars, lorries, a tractor, a restored fairground organ, and in the marquee Andy has built a temporary stage for the 70’s Ska band and a rock band called Guinness Pigs, as well as the three barrels of real ale he has resting. Am really looking forward to meeting up with old friends and having a laugh including Viv Scragg off Monarch and Andrew & Andrea off Dove, I’m sure I will be reporting more after the event but, as always

Don’t bang ‘em about.

Blossom.