Smith Street in Warwick is an eclectic collection of shops and restaurants housed in an eclectic collection of buildings, from Tudor to Victorian.

Rather than having a music shop, the street boats both a drum shop…

and a guitar shop, so that drummers are not forced to mingle with mere guitarists when upgrading their kit.

I spent some time in a used book store on Smith Street this morning. It was a little frustrating, as there is no room in the boat for a library, and I would also have to get anything I bought back to the US. I ended up buying one slim volume, mostly to thank the shopkeeper for the time I had spent there.

We headed back to Leamington today so we can catch a play tomorrow. We are moored up near the mega-Morrisons again, but across the canal from that is the mother of all Sainsbury’s. As well as groceries and clothes and the usual superstore stuff, they also offer after-school tuition for kids. I find this somewhat upsetting. Education is not just another commodity like bacon or frozen peas. It is best delivered by organizations where the primary goal is to educate kids, rather than providing the shareholders with an attractive ROI.

In the comments Nick was discussing non-alcoholic beer:

But if you’re in a Tesco, look for Nanny State from Brewdog;

I tried, Nick, I tried but when I got there the cupboard was bare.