Happy anniversary

Have had a really good week as far as Minnow was concerned. On Tuesday the cotton line I had ordered had arrived so spent the next couple of evenings making a new set of rockets for the cratch along with a set of cabin strings and chimbley strings, which I’ve always known as ‘ears’ for some reason. This was something that young Charlie Atkins taught me to do when I was a lad and he was living at the top of the ‘old thirteen’ in Birmingham and driving the British Waterways tug Bittel. Spent the last three days down Minnow getting lots of jobs done. Saturday started off with a trip into Rugeley town to buy a tin of white gloss, a tub of creosote, and a new scrubbing brush, after mine took a ‘swim’ over the weir at Haywood lock a couple of months ago after being flicked off the fenders by the rope I was strapping Minnow in with. The day was a bit wet so not a lot of painting done and so I spent my time clearing out all the junk from under the cratch and storing it tidily away in the bow cabin. Following this I got the suitcase generator out and started it and tried the ‘security light’ which we have as a tunnel lamp. After making a bracket to mount this lamp on the front of the box mast I then hooked up the battery charger and gave the three leisure batteries a top up ready for our trip to Middlewich. I now retired to the dry of the back cabin and hung some small jugs on the ribbon plates.

Sunday was a lot drier if not a little windy and so I re-painted the engine ‘ole and back cabin slides and also gave ‘the biscuit tin’ vent a coat of green. I also gave the large brass mushroom ventilator a good polish. When I got there Ling had gone for the other side of the bridge and Brian told me that they had left about 8.00pm the previous night after I had gone home.

Monday was another great day, especially as it was our 13^th wedding anniversary and I gave Dawn a really special day down at Minnow working! What more could a girl ask for ( we are going out for an Italian meal tonight though) When I looked at the newly painted slides, the wind had blown loads of bits off the roof of the industrial unit next to our mooring and so those had to be re done. I scrubbed the hose on the front of the cratch then mopped and wiped all the cratch cloths down and then set about fitting the new rockets and even though I say it myself, they look good.

As we were going out tonight and also as we had our three year old grand daughter with us, we had to leave Minnow quite early and take her home in time to get ourselves ready.

So for now, and till next time,

Don't bang 'em about

Blossom