Celebration BBQ

On Thursday 26th April we set out from Napton to Foxton Locks.  We had no sooner left the marina when it started to rain.  This turned out to be the theme for the whole excursion.  After negotiating the locks at Braunston and Watford with their associated restrictions we arrived at Foxton top lock on Saturday lunchtime when it briefly stopped raining. 
We were accompanied up the Braunston Flight by a couple who were taking their boat to be sold at a brokerage.  You couldn't help pass comment on the water shortage when we appeared to be in the wettest drought in living memory with the towpath like a mud bath.
Sunday was to be our Celebration BBQ at Bridge 61, but it seemed the weather had other ideas!  However it didn't deter our friends.  42 people braved the weather and joined us inside the pub where a roaring fire, good ale and good company turned a potential washout into a wonderful event.  Martin and Steven were determined that there would be a BBQ and tended the burgers and sausages under an erected tarpaulin.  Melissa  presented us with a beautifully decorated cake to mark the occasion.
We would like to thank everyone for the wonderful gifts and good wishes but most importantly we would like to thank you for making it a memorable event.
Of the 12 days we were out only 2 can be claimed as fine weather days and they were exceptional.  We did discover the cratch wasn't as water tight as we had hoped, although this was probably due to the fact that Digitalis was facing into the weather, we will be addressing this issue.

Shopping Trip

You may be forgiven for thinking that nothing was or is happening but we have been personalising Digitalis and having afternoon trips down to Napton bottom for visitors.  On Saturday 14th April we decided to take a trip to Braunston for supplies.  Now for those of you who don't know the area Braunston is 5 miles by road and 2 hours by canal!  Our return journey was never going to fit into one day, so we had our first overnight stay on Digitalis, canalside which was delightful. 

On Sunday 15th April we arranged to meet with Martin, Melissa, and grandchildren William and Georgia, who were out on narrowboat holiday at Wolfhampcote.  The weather was good and we spent an enjoyable afternoon with them before returning returning to the marina.

So in short this was a shopping trip with an overnight stay!