Seven days and counting

Well, the first big cruise of the year kicks off next weekend and I have been busy prioritising my preparations:

• Buy new Nespresso machine to replace the one that gave up in a funk over winter
• Buy a small mountain of Nespresso capsules to keep body and soul together over three weeks (suspect the trim could be affected as the stocks run down)
• Wash knickers

Thus far (cross fingers as there’s still next week) our holiday plans have not been derailed by work butting in. Indeed, I have had a bit of a Mrs Slocombe moment recently – ‘we are going whatever, and I am unanimous in that’. Too often in the past we’ve put our wishes second and you never really get any thanks for it, so sod it, we’re going and that’s that. So it’s goodbye Sowerby Bridge, hello Skipton. Our little recce of last week was very successful, with the chaps at Lower Park Marina doing the usual ‘Oh yes, come along, I’m sure we can find you a space’ thing, that makes you feel welcome but a little uneasy at the same time – visions of being moored on the outside of a three abreast gang, with five dogs to unload. Mmmm…well, I’m sure it will be fine and they seemed very accommodating and relaxed about the whole thing. And the L&L looked absolutely stunning, can’t wait to get there and fulfil a twenty year dream of actually taking my own boat under the double arched bridge at East Marton. I lost count of the number of times I walked under that bridge exploring while dad boosted the profits of the Cross Keys next door…..and as for going up Bingley…well, the first time I visited there I met a young chap who had just started in his new job as lock-keeper...I wonder how many boats Barry has seen through in the intervening years? And hopefully he’ll see us safely through too as big staircases give me the willies….

What’s really exciting about this trip is that so much of it is new ground for both of us. Most of our previous cruises have always involved a fair few familiar canals for me but this time, as soon as we’re past Cooper Bridge, it’s virgin territory. That always gives a little extra ‘frisson’ of excitement to each day…as long as the excitement is not of the ‘missed turn and huge weir’ variety, we should be fine. My main concern is A having to work the automated locks on the Aire & Calder. Give him a control panel and push buttons and he’s like a man possessed…I could be going up and down all day. If blog posts stop mid-May, could someone come and rescue me? A hot pie is probably the best bait to lure him away…

P.S. We’re collecting money for greyhound rescue on Bank Holiday Monday (I didn’t need much persuading but the fact that there’s a Starbucks nearby didn’t hurt…). Miffy has the honour of representing us so she’s going to get a spruce up shower on Sunday.