May 7th

Normal 0 false false false /* 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;} Wednesday May 6th � (Happy birthday Natalie Ruth!) It was extremely windy when we woke up in the morning and Clive really doesn�t like cruising and trying to negotiate locks in the wind, it makes the boat extremely difficult to handle.  You suddenly find yourself �crabbing� across the canal and if the wind is very strong there is really not a lot you can do!  So we stayed put in Hungerford.   It was a good opportunity to have a cookathon!  So mid morning I set to in the galley, starting off with Bolognese sauce, followed by liver casserole, followed by chicken soup (made from roast chicken leftovers) and I also roasted a large turkey leg ready to make my world famous Turkey Dopiaza (curry)!  So I was slaving over a hot stove for quite some time.   Other than that we didn�t do anything exciting at all on Wednesday.   Thursday May 7th � it was quite pleasant when we woke up this morning and best of all the wind had died down altogether.  After breakfast, just as we were getting ready to leave, another boat passed us heading for the lock so we quickly got our boots on, untied the boat and set off to join them in the lock.  Unfortunately we only got to share the one lock as the other boat was stopping to fill up with water, we needed water too but decided to carry on to Kintbury and fill up there.  So we were on our own again.  It was very pleasant cruising along in the sunshine and it soon warmed up and the coats and jumpers came off.  It was a very uneventful cruise and within a couple of hours we had arrived in Kintbury, the place where Vicki, Gareth and Indy had joined us at Easter.  Fortunately there were a couple of visitor moorings left so we went on to the water point first, filled up with water, then reversed back into a mooring spot.  Once we were tied up Clive decided to give Lady Arwen a wash and brush up.  He started off by sweeping the whole of the roof, then he gave the cratch cover a good scrub and it has come up really nice and clean.  After that he started cleaning the bank side of the boat, it�s a bit dangerous trying to wash the canal side!  All in all the boat is now clean as a new pin � well the bits we can see!   Once he had washed the boat he decided to saw up as much of the wood on the roof as he could and stow it in the log baskets in the cratch.  There is a strong possibility of a shower later today and he wanted to get it inside to keep it dry.  Whilst all this was going on I made my Turkey Dopiaza with the turkey leg I had cooked yesterday.  I am just waiting for it to cool so I can box it.  All in all I am very pleased with the results of my cookathon � 3 boxes of Bolognese sauce; 2 boxes of liver casserole; a large box of soup which we are going to have this evening and I am sure I can get three meals out of the curry too, so all that should keep us going for a while.   The only thing to marr my feelings of well being is the knowledge that somewhere under our hull is Gareth�s mobile phone!!!  It is really weird but just knowing it is down there makes me feel quite uncomfortable � so near and yet so far! Anyway, we are now relaxing with a gin and tonic � how very civilized!  Again, we haven�t taken any photographs today.    Tomorrow we�re off to Newbury.