We stayed 2 nights at Thrupp taking advantage of the quiet road side location to organise another Tesco delivery and say Hello to friends in the area.
The first night we visited The Boat Inn, which has a new landlord since our last visit who aims to make it a boater and local friendly establishment.
That night there were Morris Dancing sides making merry in the pub garden including (Shock Horror) an all female side with a ‘squire’ rather scarily dressed as a French maid and performing an energetic sword dance!
But that didn’t stop us enjoying a couple of drinks there with Maffi and Mollie the Wonderdog.
We spent a quiet day yesterday waiting for our groceries and doing some work down the ‘engine ‘ole’, checking oil levels, batteries, adjusting the alternator belts and re-filling the stern-tube greaser.
As we were thinking about bed a knock on the side of the boat announced Kate Saffin’s arrival with a windlass to return to Maffi, which she had needed for a photo-shoot publicising her performance of Finding Libby at the Edinburgh Fringe next month.
This morning Bones & Gilly walked past walking their dogs and stopped for a few words.
After filling up with water at ‘The Wide’ where Dusty was having some welding done by Alex we were on our way.
Through Shipton Weir Lock onto the River Cherwell to Baker’s Lock, apparently named after one Henry Baker the first landlord The Rock of Gibraltar pub where we moored up and partook lunch; a little bit of Greece in Oxfordshire thanks to Stamatis and his team, Greek Salad, Tzatziki & Pitta Bread, washed down with a couple of pints of Butty Bach for me & Cinzano & lemonade for herself (he’d run out of Ouzo!!!!)
nb wrens-nest 