May 5th

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;} We left our mooring in Great Bedwyn after breakfast and just as we were untying the ropes a lady walked past and asked if we were going to the lock and if so could they join us � we said yes of course!  The lock was only a short distance from our mooring so I walked along the towpath with her ready to set the lock.   It turned out this couple, Sandra and Dave, actually have a custom built Dutch barge and they split their time between the boat and their cottage near Padstow in Cornwall.  However today they were on a narrowboat which they were moving for a friend of theirs who has been taken ill.  They were a lovely couple and we spent several very pleasant hours in their company as we cruised along and negotiated the locks.  It�s always good to have someone to share the lock-work with.   We had about four locks to go to Hungerford and Sandra and I had just set one lock and Clive had actually entered the lock and I was hauling the boat to the side with the centre rope to make room for Dave to bring Lorelei in but then we heard him shouting!  Clive was the nearest so he jumped off our boat and ran back to see what the problem was � by this time Lorelei had drifted right across the canal as their was quite a strong wind blowing.  It turned out he had lost drive � the engine was still running but he couldn�t get it into gear to drive the boat forward!  We quickly got Lady Arwen secured in the lock then we hauled Lorelei backwards so that Dave could knock some pins in and get her secured to the bank.  They obviously weren�t going anywhere and told us to carry on without them.  It seemed awful to leave them stranded but they were going to call out a mechanic to get them sorted.   So we carried on alone.  The next lock we came to was the quirky one with the swing bridge in the middle of it.  Dave had told us we should look over to the left once we were in the lock as there was something interesting in the distance � we looked and sure enough saw the very strange sight of two blue statues next to a house � Morcambe and Wise!   Evidently the guy who lives there used to have a theatre and Eric and Ernie had appeared there on one occasion and the statues were part of the advertisement.  He liked them so much he brought them with him to his new house and here they are!   We soon arrived in Hungerford and managed to squeeze into the very last space on the visitor moorings before the lock.   Once we were safely moored we popped into Hungerford to find the new Tesco store and do a bit of shopping.  We stocked up on a few bits and pieces and tomorrow we are going to sprint along to Kintbury in the morning so that I can spend the afternoon cooking and preparing meals for the freezer.   That�s it I�m afraid � nothing more to report and only one photograph!