Newbury

The Thames is still high, out of the reaches we’d need to cover five are ‘Caution Stream Increasing’ the rest ‘Caution Strong Stream’, no signs of it decreasing yet. Hopefully after a couple of dry days this will start to change.

Yesterday we decided to stay put until all my work is completed for Houdini and the bit of prep work for Panto I need to do. If then we have time to reach somewhere with a station nearer to Reading we’ll move. Getting closer towards the Thames would be a good thing and getting Oleanna through certain obstacles on the K&A would help too. This will give Mick more chance of reaching Abingdon or Oxford for my first weekend trip home from panto, that’s if the Thames goes down.

So today I knuckled down, hoping to finish my model and any amendments to drawings for Houdini. Only one drawing left to do, a cross section. Lots of photos of the model to show the Director, Lighting Designer, Writer/Actor, Videographer. Just annoying that the internet started playing games as everything was uploading!

Mick cycled off to Halfords for some engine oil. Then he did a biggish shop at Sainsbury’s. They keep giving us really good vouchers so it would be silly not to use them. It’s that thing they do at this time of year, they think they have got you hooked with free nectar points, money off etc. so you’ll do your Christmas food shop with them. For us it tops up the nectar points that we may or may not be able to spend on a Christmas food shop. If all goes according to plan, our bird will come from the butchers in Braunston and our veg from the Post Office at Napton, so our points will wait for another time.

Mick spent the rest of the afternoon sat out the back, keeping out of my way and chaperoning Tilly. It was such a mild afternoon that I had the hatch open for much of it and Tilly could return as often as she liked. The Fish Selection Pocket Pillows have nothing to do with it! They are rather nice, thank you to Joa or Adam for them, although I think I still prefer the Chicken and Cheese ones.

She’d had enough after a while and returned to sleep leaving her chaperone outside. He eventually came in to carry on working his way through programmes on the channel tunnel, Heathrow and the first series of Star Trek.

Why the title? Today is the first day of Newbury’s Michaelmas Fair which happens in the week where the Thursday is the first Thursday following the 11th of October. It dates back to the 17th Century when Shepherds and Maids turned up to seek work in the town. It is about a mile away, but we could just about make out the words coming across the PA. Neither of us are big fans of fairs, so I doubt we’ll be paying it a visit. Although the fireworks on Friday may be worth it if we are still here.

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 steps of the boat for me, 4 hours, 10 litres oil, 4 boxes wine, 1 model finished, 2 groundplans, 6 sheets, 1 cross section still to go, 25 year anniversary, 2,000 robot women, 2nd left over pork meal, teriyaki stir fry.