Sept 2nd

OK, Day 2! Left our overnight mooring to get up the Top Lock at Buckby, to wait for our "Cratch" guy, Dave Bassett, who came along with a nearly finished version to see if it fitted OK. AJ Canopies, who are making the cover, also joined us and set about measuring up a template for the cover based on Dave's cratch dimensions. All went well (photos in gallery). Had a visit from a friend of ours, Malcolm Hysom, who lives quite close by - stayed for a cuppa and a chat and kindly took Mel shopping for a few bits and pieces while I supervised the cratch experts on the boat!. Decided to move on a little and at around 4pm, left Buckby to find a nice, quiet, rural stretch to moor at for the night, in prep for navigating the Braunston Tunnel tomorrow morning. Had a runmble of thunder and some lightning (and hail! - it IS summer, isn't it?!) just before an excellent meal (and wine!) - the grill works well. We are having to learn a whole new skill set - how to understand and manage power consumption; the boat is nicely fitted out with serious batteries and an electrical inverter to convert 12V to 240V. However (and as we discovered) things like a 3 kilowatt kettle are a real NO-NO - basically it overloads the system so we're sticking to gas and the old camping kettle until an up to date version can be found at a future hostelry. The shower and central heating both work splendidly, not that we've needed the latter just yet but it has been tested. Can't understand something; more or less as soon as the sun disappears, we start yawning and it's time for an early night! It could be that we haven't switched the TV on yet!