Engine Problems
Today we went under Ugly Bridge.
It I have no idea how it got that name as there are many even more grotesque bridges carrying roads and railways across the canal. Here is what it looks like from the canal.
I mean, it’s not that bad, really. Of course, cygnets look no worse than the typical duckling, so that whole “Ugly Duckling” schtick is a load of bollocks, too. Look, here’s a cygnet.
Yes, there is something about the look in its eyes that suggests a young Charles Manson, but apart from that it’s not actually any more ugly than these junior Donald Ducks, is it?
Except for the yellow one, of course. He’s going to grow up to be Donald Trump.
We left Leamington early, and headed back through Warwick to the Hatton Locks, an interminable flight with a total gain in altitude of over a hundred and forty feet. There are twenty-one locks in all, plus the two in Warwick. For one of the Warwick locks Paula took the helm and I worked the gates for a change. I don’t see why she should get all that healthy exercise. Anyhow, we were almost half way up the flight, in one of the locks with another boat, when our engine died, and refused to restart. The other boat towed us over to the side of the canal, and we moored up and called Clive and Alex.
After establishing over the phone that the “Stop Engine” cable was not broken and that there was fuel in the tank, Clive drove up from London to pay us a visit. It turned out there was an air bubble in the fuel feed that had expanded due to the current heatwave, which is something that happens occasionally with this model of engine. I should mention that what passes for a heatwave in England is temperatures in the low seventies – the sort of temperatures that would have my Bahamian friends putting their winter coats on.
It was late enough by the time everything was fixed and put back together that we decided to stay for the night, and deal with the rest of the flight tomorrow.
One thought on “Engine Problems”
In defence of cricket !!! Which is as you are aware the most wonderful and complex game of tactics in the world . The weather, the humidity , the condition of the ball, the type and state of the pitch etc,etc. They all make for a brain teasing day! Of course the odd short shower allows time for us blokes to have e nice warm pint and put the world to right, and for the girls to have a cup of tea and cake a a talk about “girlie things ” like sowing. The game can of course be played by people of all shapes and sizes ,unlike most American games ,which require that you have shoulders wider than Goliath,or be 7 foot tall, or try to hit a round ball with a round bat (a game played by girls in the UK!!) Wellnow I have put cricket back on the map, and insulted most of North America,and the female half of the worlds population . Not a bad evening! Love Ant