Shoot The Runner...

A bit of fresh air, a few provisions to replenish and a change of scenery was required so co-ordinates were set for the Big L, and a short time later a mooring was secured by the Waterwitch for the weekend. Dead Man's Hand didn't disappoint and neither did the ale selection....the following day, after checking that the Sharks DID predictably get beat yesterday and feeling a whole lot better it was soon time for the return trip on a perfectly still autumnal Sunday morning.

The towpath comes alive on Sundays and I always enjoy observing the runners who use it. Firstly there are the ones with muscly legs, nikey vests and little tight fanny packs (snigger!), all highly focused and probably connected wirelessly to the planet Strava with a PB to beat. And then there are the others who, shall we say, don't run as often... comedically lurching along with uncontrollable gangly legs, while wheezing and blowing with visible pained expressions of discomfort, probably due to the cheap tight shorts purchased last week from the Aldi...!
 Sweating porkers with coordinated pink lippy and matching pumps (mostly the ladies, I have to admit) are all tremendously entertaining to me as I meander slowly along at tick over, supping Mr Atkinson's finest coffee and listening to Cerys playing me laid back Reggie beats and sultry saxophone sounds mixed with harmonica blues from times gone by as I wait for the plump premium pork sausages to sizzle in the oven...kingfishers lead the way as a giveaway cobalt blue flash whizzes out from the trees above bridge 91 heading south...
....I'm glad that I can't run!.....
...Oh well, it will have to be sausage butty and an egg banjo at Bridge 90....
...Come on you 'porkers!'

This post blog title was inspired today by...Kasabian...from the old album 'Empire'.

Keep Believing...

As the first drops of rain descend from the darker skies you have to ponder if maybe the summer is finally coming to an end but it's actually starting to feel a little uncanny with every day having been still, bright and dry for such a long period. There are still, as always, plenty of jobs to do on Andromeda but the will is lacking so she remains half painted, with top and bottom complete but cabin sides requiring attention, The good weather has meant more playtime than work time but all is well going into the final part of the year and in the week the 'Sharks' were witnessed knocking up their first victory in the Aviva premiership the canal seems to be at its lowest level and the Glasson flight remains closed following CRT warnings so a few extra drops of rain would be grateful to boaters....another reason to 'Keep Believing'

This post blog title was inspired today by...Bob Mould...final track on Husker Du & Sugar front mans 2012 album packed full of 'throttle to the floor' guitar riffs and an album to enjoy blissfully loud!

Machine gun...

I know that there seems to be plenty of strife around the world at the current time but being lucky enough to live on the generally tranquil Lancaster canal where you can hear every twig break, every beak on the bow and almost every spider spinning a web it's suddenly got a bit louder just lately.  This is due to being moored under two great oak trees and a sweet chestnut....nowadays these fellas are bursting with acorns and hard hairy chestnuts and boy can these lads fire them at you, every whisper of wind and the artillery starts flying....as the leaves start to turn from green to brown they start to shed their fruits and fire their missiles upon Andromeda's newly painted steel roof, from inside it sounds like a machine gun is being unloaded.....sadly, somewhere in the distant world this is actually happening for real......!

This post blog title was inspired today by...Portishead...from their third album 'Third', moody Beth Gibbons' band and this track is a personal favourite.

I wonder...

Sailing back in perfect conditions made me wonder how many more days we are going to get like this as we enter Autumn. Returning back over the tiny Brock aqueduct and watching corn fields being combined, it was noticeable that the families of swans were all grazing in the long grass in the fields as we slipped quietly by.

Hedgerows now are busting with berries, blackberries, elderberries, rose hips, hawthorn berries, sloes and acorns.

With the only stop being the water point to fill the tank we were back in time to strip down the bike and repair all the punctures from the carpet of hedge cuttings on the 34km ride the previous nite...2 bikes=4 punctures!!

This post blog title was inspired today by...Sixto Rodriguez...from the album 'Cold Fact' - an unknown penny-less singer-songwriter in his US home but without him knowing because of the apartheid he was a massive star in South Africa. The documentary 'Sugar Man' tells this incredible story!

Pulling mussels from a shell...

The weather this summer has been incredibly pleasant and ideal for sailing and enjoying the canal so it's always good to leave the mooring and have a change of scenery, now we find ourselves at Guys at Bilsborrow on the day that the 23rd Oyster festival gets started. A little surprised that there are plenty of available moorings here but maybe this is down to CRT having limited the stopovers to 48hrs now at the more popular spots along the Lancaster canal.Looking at the marks the water levels are well down and here there is barely enough water under the boat to moor up to the side.

So before everyone in posh frocks turn up and start swilling Guinness and lobbing slimy crustaceans down their necks, getting all drunk and horny and jiggin' about to Shakira Shakira, it's probably time to slip quietly away...




                                                         

 

This post blog title was inspired today by...Squeeze..an old favourite band with a load of classic hits, and Jools on the keyboards no less!