Jan 29th

Normal 0 false false false st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Well we didn�t get the boat washed this morning after all, but she did get tidied up and had a good clean on the inside, also we both had showers, so we were fit to receive guests!   Barrie and Cath arrived at The New Inn as planned and we had a lovely lunch together then we all trooped back to the boat, including Henry their black Labrador!  However Henry was not too happy about getting on the boat and in fact no amount of coaxing would get him to step over that gap between the bank and the boat, even though it was only a few inches wide.  In the end we put a door mat over the gap and he hopped on board immediately!  It�s all a matter of perception really.   We gave Barrie and Cath a guided tour of Lady Arwen and they seemed very impressed � Cath even suggested that they have a holiday on the canal!  Not so sure if it would suit Barrie travelling at a mere 4mph � he�s used to going a bit faster than that!!!  For those of you out there who don�t know who Barrie �Whizzo� Williams is; he is a very good friend of my brother Nick�s.  They have known each other since their teens (I've known him since I was 6!).  They met at the Huddersfield Motor Club and both of them have had a lifelong love of very fast cars!  Barrie has raced in just about everything except Formula 1 and in fact is still racing cars today at the ripe old age of 70!   On that note Barrie insisted on being shown the business end of the boat � the engine!  So he and Clive went off to play and Cath and I looked at photographs and chatted.   We all had a cuppa and Henry had a biscuit!  We took some photographs including this one of me with Barrie and Henry and Barrie�s book. It�s his biography!  Available on Amazon for anyone who is interested!  (Entitled: �Whizzo� The motor sporting life of Barrie Williams by Paul Lawrence)   After a while Henry was getting a bit bored and said he wanted to go home, shame its been lovely having a ship�s dog, if only on loan!  Well then we had the problem of getting Henry up the steps � no way - he wasn�t having any of it.  We tried sending Barrie up first but he still wouldn�t go up, Cath tried pushing him from behind but that didn�t work either, we tried bribery and corruption in the form of a McVities Caramel biscuit all to no avail!  In the end Barrie had to come back down the steps and lift Henry�s back legs up and he finally made it to the top!    A few more photos and then it was goodbye with the promise to let them know when we get down to Banbury � Cath has promised to take me shopping!  Evidently the canal goes right through a shopping centre in Banbury � sounds good to me!   So that was our excitement for the day.  Tomorrow, we will fill up with water and then head off towards Braunston and the launderette!!