Comfortable night and breakfast on The Lady before the childrens’ playground and shopping in Godmanchester stopping for lunch at Huntingdon and then cruising on along the Old West to moor at the Twenty Pence Inn where we dine ashore after putting the kids to bed aboard. News today of planned industrial action over Easter by Customs officials, and of Israel retaining 1200-odd Lebanese hostages and moving them back to Israel against the Geneva Convention
A fair night after a few squabbling ducks had at last settled down and stopped making a noise. Cool at first and then rather too warm in my sleeping bag. Awake early and Diana makes the morning tea and puts the heating on, which keeps us all very warm up to breakfast. The water still warm from yesterday, now that our tank is securely lagged. Up and washed and then dressed for a breakfast of toast and fruit juice. The kids had Kellogg’s Varieties with Debbie choosing coco pops and Daniel frosties and then corn flakes. After, the kids out to the Godmanchester swings and Diana to feed and tend the baby and so I helped to clear up before we all left the boat for a walk to the local shops.
First the newsagent for a Guardian and a host of magazines and drawing books for Debbie. Then the grocer for some bits and pieces before walking all around the town. Good to see the oldest house relics being worked on, with brick and breeze block inserted between the old timber frame. My architect Stokes have their board up and undoubtedly are doing the work. Then to see the local houses for sale until we visited the old book shop and each of us to purchase a few things. I chose two books by Arthur Bryant on Samuel Pepys to complete the set of three. To the boat and to cast off, negotiating the lock at Godmanchester in the high wind, before mooring in Huntingdon riverside park. A while to prepare whilst Debbie played in the adventure playground and then all to the town centre for some shopping. We bought a new kitchen-roll holder for the boat and some brass curtain hooks. Lunch at the Wimpy, which was fine, but the room hot and the service poor. Back to the boat and we set off for a long cruise to get within striking distance of Cambridge tomorrow. In the difficult wind through the locks at Houghton, Hemingford, St Ives, Brownshill and Hermitage, with particular trouble at St Ives without assistance from the lockkeeper. The keepers are different this year (except Hermitage). Eventually I stopped at Hermitage Marina at 5.10pm, but missed phoning Vinters through them not offering me the use of a phone. On along the Old West River in high winds and shallow waters, particularly affected by the moored dredging equipment blocking most of the width, but through, after a couple of hours, to Twenty Pence Inn, where we moored. Daniel gets into the spirit of things with an exuberant playtime with Debbie on the slide and swings. After putting them to bed, we go across to the bar and have a good meal of onion soup and (for me) seafood platter to follow. Both for ice cream and coffee to follow before back to The Lady on a very windy, but mild night. To my journal, to change and then the news and weather on the TV. News of the planned industrial action by UK customs officers over Easter to disrupt holiday travel in pursuit of a wage claim. Another two people are killed near the court house in Newry, which follows a car bomb attack in February in the same area. The Israelis release 750 prisoners, but withhold 1,200-odd as continued Lebanese hostages and move them to Israel in contravention of the Geneva Convention. In Johannesburg, Bishop Tutu leads a march in defiance of a ban. The barometer fell today, but stabilised at 1010 in the evening. The weather forecast is for another warm day tomorrow, but with more colder and showery weather to come over the next few days.