Tunnel Vision

Today we had a proper day of boating - 8 hours worth, our first taste of the things to come. And our first tunnels! Adrian was on the back for the trip through Braunston - which has some fine wiggles in it. And once he got the hang of it - which didn't take long - I think he quite enjoyed it. And Anna and Ruth sang the traditional songs on the bows to ward off the ghosts. Which they managed to do - but failed to ward off other boats, who we passed without incident.

I was on the back on my own for Blisworth, and hoping for a speedy trip through. I don't much like tunnels. I get tunnel vision after a while - when you are not quite sure what you are looking at, and where up is. It is an ailment that seems to be related to Boatus Rictus - the fixed grin that comes from the constant repetition of "Morning!" as you pass other boats. Anyway - I like to get through tunnels quickly, and was looking forward to beating the record that Mike constantly harps on about of something stupid like 24 minutes. Probably fortunately, for the sake of the hull and the others nerves, we got ourselves stuck behind the slowest boat in the world, and crawled through in what seemed like 14 hours. I swear that even at tickover we got close enough that I could read the dials on their fancily lit dash. We would never have beaten the record anyway - as we, again, met a trip boat coming the other way. It was a very strange experience to see the ghostly image of the brilliantly lit boat appear out of the gloom, and glide past with a seemingly endless procession of pensioners staring out from behind their blankets...

The canal museum, like the Admiral Nelson, did not seem to promising in terms of numbers. Unfortunately, they didn't pick up in quite the miraculous fashion that they had the night before. Probably as a result of the weather, which, although dry, was not great. Still, we had reasonable crowd, who all seemed to enjoy it, which was fortunate as Mike had come to check up on us. It is always a bit tricky when the director turns up, as we have to try and remember what we are SUPPOSED to do...We did have our first interesting encounter with venue staff, though. I think they were not overly impressed with having to wait around for us. When they could have been at home in front of their tellies. Oh well. When they unplugged our lights and threw the cable out of the door, we got the message, and had to finish our get out in the dark. I hope we haven't left anything vital... Anyway - Mike seemed happy. As did everyone else in the pub afterwards. Perhaps something to do with the Frogs. A local beer - not the amphibious sort.