LLANGOLLEN CANAL

Came up onto the Llangollen Canal through the four locks at Hurleston with the help of the ladie locky who is on duty at this busy flight. Now this is the second female lockie who has told me to stay on board while she locks me through, now i`m thinking is it my muscular manly looks that makes them rush to help or do they feel sorry for the old so & so struggling on his own....make your own minds up i know what i think well wish anyway.
Been on the Llangollen just over an hour and the boat in front at a lock pulls out so i walk up and set it for me open the gates bring the boat in and then find the bottom gates won`t shut. So i got my boat pole and prodded around the cill and sure enough something was lurking below the surface stopping the gate from closing against the cill. After 20mins i gave up and phoned the BW 24hr emergency line and within half hour of the engineer saying he would call the duty team

these two BW men arrived, now half hour is better than the 2 hrs i`ve waited on a road for the AA. Anyway as you can see they got down onto the back deck of "VALERIE" and prodded, pushed and pulled for a good 40 mins and up came a well water sodden log.

The canals are on the whole a very pleasent enviroment to live and you get some nice people as neighbours so i thought you might to meet some i have shared the countryside with recently.

Young chirpy, he`s just to the right of the bread looking over the edge of the back deck actually perched on the rope. He would hop up and knick a piece of bread and fly off then be back on the rope for a repeat performance. Enlarge pic for better view.

Mr Mandarin Duck so posh and colourful, feel proud to have him as a neighbour.

Mrs. Mooo & a few relatives checking me out as i move in to their neighborhood.

Ms. Quack and her latest offspring