As I sit and write this current post Marian and I have decided to moor for the day. We arrived in Nantwich yesterday in the rain in the afternoon but the weather is worse today. Outside the wind is whooshing through the trees and they are bending and flailing their leaves and branches as if in an autumn gale. The rain hasn't stopped and runs between drizzling to hard, hammering with persistence its presence on the top of the boat. As if there wasn't enough water she has gone swimming at the local pool. I did suggest the canal as it was cheaper but it only raised a disdainful look.
Before leaving Stone we decided to go for a walk as we often do. One of the things that we agreed when buying a boat was that not only was it a gentle way of life, generally, but we could use the lifestyle to explore the land we live in. Much of which we are ignorant of. Finding footpaths and visiting villages and towns to discover something about our country is something that gives us great pleasure. It also enables us to get some physical exercise on a regular basis.
I looked on line to see if there were any suggestions for walks locally and found this little map. There was a three mile walk suggested and it meant us just walking to Meaford locks and turning right.
My sense of direction has never been very good and there are four locks. The map doesn't say which lock we turn off so I assumed it was the last one. Needless to say it wasn't and not being able to find the turning we carried on up the towpath. The short story was that we ended up walking a further five miles before we came to the original path we were initially searching for.
The journey round the fields and outskirts was delightful but Marian did mention my poor navigational skills again. Three miles became eight and when we arrived back in the town centre in the mid afternoon we were a trifle weary. Now the day before Exeter Chiefs had won the rugby premiership title and I thought I would get a paper to read and relish the team we support's victory. Not one shop had a paper that we could get to read about them. Stone must have some avid newspaper readers living there!
But what an outstanding performance from the team who only arrived in the premiership seven years ago. We were there at Bristol watching them when they beat Bristol to gain status in the top flight and although we couldn't be at Twickenham this time to see how far they've ascended we listened on the radio. I was peeling some vegetables for dinner and showed my shaking hands to Marian when the match was in extra time . Crazy that I was so anxious and caught up in the sporting moment. But sport can get you like that!
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