Evening activity near Saul on the Sharpness canal

Back at the canal looking south towards Saul Junction  I watched the sculler rowing towards me rather slowly. The narrowboat came up behind and passed him, before swinging round a cross the river. 

As I was looking towards the setting sun I hadn't noticed the woman at the front of the boat nor the two dogs. Having turned the boat the helmsman very slowly approached the opposite bank and eased them into a small berth, like parking a car. I was impressed with the degree of control he had . the smoke from the coal fire was interesting to watch. 

It reminded me of when I lived on a boat in Paddington Canal Basin, next to Little Venice in west London. A butty barge would be towed along the canal by a narrowboat in early autumn bringing fresh supplies of household coal from the Midlands' coalfields to all the residential boats. There was, and probably still is, a bylaw which allowed boats to burn smokey rather than smokeless coal in the middle of the city. I was very glad as it was just about the only heat I had. No electricity, nor running water!