Good Friday – The last day with our French guests was a fine one, starting misty but then fine and sunny for the open day at Little Paxton Wood and then to start our boating holiday aboard The Lady. We cruised upstream to start with, through the Paper Mill Lock to moor at Coneygear and then took The Little Lady to St Neots for fuel and shopping. An attempted rebellion today against Presdient Alfonsin of Argentina and a cache of IRA weapons had been uncovered
Slept well and awoke to my morning tea. The day was cool to start with, but foggy and the humidity was high. Soon the sun shone through the mist and we had a very fine day on our hands. Showered and shaved for breakfast, the last we were to have with our French guests. Then the start of our efforts to load the boat. I changed the water again by leaving all of the taps open, then refilling it. Out with the fenders, the red ensign, the flag mast, then on with the refrigerator, water pump etc. I ran the engine a while more and there was no problem with core plug, which now seems to be holding fast. A hectic time, but eventually we had it loaded with all of our things and the house locked up and alarmed, so that we could leave. We took the Range Rover first to Little Paxton woods, which are always open to the public on Good Friday.
A lovely day with the primroses in flower, the sun shining and the woods full of walkers, with the cars lined up Wood Lane in both directions. We had a nice time walking round and then returned to our car and drove to the Little Chef for lunch. A lot of cars and people about visiting, but they served us well and we then got home to put the Range Rover away and board the boat. Cast off and made our way to the Paper Mill lock and just caught the pen by blowing our horn. Up and along the stretch of St Neots, mooring The Lady at the berth opposite the Coneygeare playground, and taking Daniel’s boat to the town jetty for some shopping. Went to Waitrose and filled up a half dozen carrier bags to stock up the boat for the season and then took the lot to The Lady. Back in the other one for a trip to the ‘Garden Centre by the River’, where we had cans of drink and ice cream, then filled Daniel’s boat up with petrol at St Neots Marina. Once back in The Lady, Di made the tea. Mediterranean prawn salad for me and chicken salad for her, both with raspberries and milk to follow. The children played opposite on the swings and slides and then returned for their sandwiches when we had finished. Then it was dark and we put the TV on and watched a zany film about a petrol lorry chasing a motorist across America. News today is of an attempted rebellion against President Alfonsin of Argentina. An IRA cache of weapons has been uncovered. The Bank Holiday traffic has been heavy on all of the motorways today, with everyone trying to get away for the Easter holiday.