Lockdown Mooring 4

Easter when I was a kid was quite often spent in Buttermere in the Lake District. We would stay at The Bridge along with many others who had become regulars for the weekend. The first sign that the Leckenbys had arrived was our dog Worthington running through to the rear bar to claim prime position in front of the log fire. I strongly suspect my life began in that hotel Easter 1966.

The adults would play Hare and Hounds, the hare leaving a paper trail across the fells for the hounds to track them down. I suspect my brother and I were left with mum in the bar with her G&T whilst my Dad, Buddy and others were scree running on the peaks.

One year we joined in with an Easter Egg hunt at a friends house in York. This was the first hunt I’d ever been on. It was very well organised, each of us with a little basket to collect our chocolate in, special eggs had our names iced on them. I came away with quite a collection I seem to remember.

Then there was the year Granny and Pompom came to stay with us and I made myself an Easter bonnet out of pink ribbon. I remember it well, better than that jumper!

Now onboard Oleanna, Easter usually brings with it the not so secret secret purchasing of Easter eggs. These are then normally hidden until our Sunday morning cuppa in bed when we produce them from their hiding holes, “Happy Easter!!!” Well that is how it’s been since we moved to living on a boat. This year however it was different.

The not so secret secret purchase hadn’t been possible for normal eggs, due to lack of space in our shopping bags, restocking the wine cellar was far more important! But two small bags of Mini Eggs had been squeezed into our bags amongst the cabbage and carrots, so we wouldn’t do without.

The shopping on Thursday had been unpacked, disinfected or left for three days before being brought inside. Mini eggs were deemed to need disinfecting to be brought indoors. The new regime takes time and means that things don’t always end up being put where they normally would go. The last I saw of the packets of mini eggs was on the counter top as the Milton solution dried.

Just where had they gone! We had a proper Easter Egg Hunt on our hands. Mick had a look in the obvious places that they could have gone. Nothing!! A girl look was needed!

Just where oh where had they gone?!

Drawers were opened up. The shopping bag drawer now filled with chocolate!

Not there.

Nor there.

What about……..

YES!!!!

The first place I should have looked, at least it was the last!

To walk off some of the chocolate we took our rubbish for a walk up the locks to the bin. The big containers have gone from the works enclosure at the top of the locks.

Then we decided to follow the route I’d taken yesterday, just cutting it short to avoid the boggy patch. As we approached Stoke Manor we noticed a black plastic bag on top of a post. Then we turned down the lane and got to Stoke Manor Farm. Here was another black bin bag, what were they covering?

Public Footpath signs. Is this because someone is isolating and don’t want people traipsing through their farm yard? Is it fear? Well I have to say it made our mind up, we’d follow the footpath on our maps across their yard along the Public Right of Way.

We headed across the fields and took a different path to reach Bridge 99. The fields seemed to be just a touch greener today, maybe Mother Nature had been hard at work overnight.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 Easter egg hunt necessity, 2 bags of eggs, 2 bin bags, 0 Easter epic, 2.4 miles walked, 1 roast chicken, 0.75″ too wide, 1 pulled out sock, 1 nosy neighbour, 1 worrying car.