Today was the last day of a golden summer. And yes, it was just a little bit decadent and more than a little bit self indulgent.
In fact it was just plain, old-fashioned downright fun.
We met Paul and Chrissie (who built Honey and cared for her for 18 years) for lunch on the banks of the Ouse in the centre of York. With the appropriate lubrication, we chatted about the boat we all love and the good times that are continuing on her.
Their kindness continued with gifts of wine, spare rope and a toolbox - they know the way to a man's heart!
We discussed fuel filters and bilge pumps, antifreeze and coolant, calorifiers and toilets. And we finished with a leisurely cruise through the centre of York to the Archbishop's palace and back into the heart of town...
...where we tidied everything up, emptied the fridge, isolated the batteries and then carried the laundry to the car.
Tomorrow, we all return to work and school.
Next weekend, we take Honey back to her home mooring - and there she will have to stay until October half term.
Well, we'll probably break her out of jail for a weekend or two before then...
I do so agree with your comments about rivers being your favourite parts of the network - they are living things, never the same.
ReplyDeleteI know you live in York, but will Peccadillo be OK with perhaps the levels rising from the rain we've had today? Boating lore we've heard in York is that it takes 5 days for the river levels in the city to peak after rain in the catchment area, and 5 more days for levels to return to normal.
Anyway, we enjoy your blog, and we continue to promote the waterways east of the Pennines.
Thanks for reading our blog! How did you find it?
ReplyDeleteThe Richlow North Yorkshire Waterways guide (which our mutual friend Tony recommended) is excellent, so thank you for that.
The water level in the centre of York is still two feet below the path, and I use the Environment Agency Flood Alert iPhone App to keep a daily check on the water levels. And we live next to the river anyway.
So we're keeping a close eye on things from here.
We're still not sure whether it will be Saturday or Sunday that we leave the Ouse as getting in touch with the lockies when you work for a living isn't very easy - so we don't know when we can get through Naburn.
I don't suppose you know how we can get the lock times online?