The battle swans have been keeping a close eye on us, and this morning they made a show of force.

We decided to leave the boat for a while, and walked into Wellingborough to the local museum, but there was no escape.

Other goodies in the museum included a fine collection of vintage appliances…

… a working player piano to provide background music…

… several wombles…

… and a bell from The Titanic.

Pride of place, however, includes the local Roman archeological finds, including dice with the spots arranged in unusual patterns…

… a pot that contained 40,000 coins…

… and an exceptionally fine colander.

However, I’m not entirely sure of the authenticity of this exhibit.

In 1738 the town of Wellingborough was ravaged by a devastating fire. The self-appointed volunteer fire brigade, a lady called Hannah Sparke who ran the local pub, managed to save the other citizens who had taken shelter in the church by diverting the fire using beer soaked blankets. She lived to be 107, so she had a very long time to put up with jokes about Sparke and fire.

The 15th century tithe barn survived the fire, though it probably needed a new roof. It’s now used for craft fairs.

This weekend was the Wellingborough Medieval Fair, with historical reenactment, and medieval craft stalls.

Well of course there were daleks in medieval times, they have time travel.

The best form of medieval reenactment is of course jousting falconry ferret racing…

… and they’re off…

… number two takes an early lead…

… it’s neck and neck going into the final curve… and I’m not going to talk about who won, because it wasn’t the ferret that we backed.

I don’t think ferrets are ready to replace whippets as the working man’s racehorse. They do not so much sprint as amble, and may well turn round in the middle of the track and come out the wrong end, or lie on their backs and chew on the tube. (Or in the case of the ferret we backed, refuse to go in the tube at all.)

However, this is just the start. Given a hundred years of selective breeding Northamptonshire Ferret Club may produce a race of speedster ferrets that could make it up the inside of a trouser leg in milliseconds. The military implications are terrifying. Let’s hope the ferrets never gang up with the swans.