Canal life

When Fi rang me mid-morning and asked if I'd like her to come and pick me and and go to town I jumped at the chance.  Unfortunately, I remembered that there appeared to be a problem with her new fire and when she looked at it she decided it warranted a call to the chap who installed it.  As luck would have it, he could 'come round now' to have a look.  By the time he arrived and completed the fix (fairly minor but necessary) Fi's lunch hour was all but over.  Instead of going to town together, she had to drop me off and left me to mooch and explore alone.  After a little wander round a few shops I opted to take a walk along the canal........

It was an interesting walk - quite a few narrow boats moored along the canal - some clearly had residents on board whilst others looked like they hadn't had any company in quite some time.  Then I spotted a boat heading towards town.  I decided it would make a good wee on-the-spot project to record a photo essay of some life on the canal.  The boat was travelling at about walking pace so conversation was easy - I called out to the chap who was steering and asked his permission to take some pics which he was very agreeable to, and there began about an hour of watching, learning and even a little helping (well - I helped his wife to open and close one gate!) What a fascinating lifestyle!  When they were safely moored and replenishing their fresh-water supply they shared their email with me so that I can share some of my pics with them.

A thoroughly enjoyable and totally unexpected little adventure.  Fabulous!

The extra is a building in Banbury that I really liked - genuine, old-fashioned advertising at its very best costing no more than the paint that created it.