The sun was out and everyone I met were pleasant and friendly, all but one that is; coming towards me on the public FOOTPATH - clue's in the name - was a stocky, bald, be-shorted, middle-aged chappie on a bike. This cyclist rode directly up to me and stopped dead in front of me - I was also still at this juncture..
I said "I suppose you want me to move then" as I stepped to one side.
The cyclist then 'explained' to me that
- we were not in America or Europe -
- the right arm is the sword arm...???
- we drive on the left
'get the straw out of my arse' and don't country bumpkins like me know what side to drive, before he cycling off again.
Now as tempting as it was to respond to this gentleman I managed to restrain myself and merely watched the rant in silence before walking on thinking 'what a twat!! and 'some poor woman was/is probably married to that bullying dickhead.'
The rest of the walk was lovely however and on arriving back at the boat we had a visit from a young lady of ten, Katie, who was dragging her Mum, Louise, towards us. Katie was eager to tell me that Mum reads the blog... Katie and Louise then had a guided tour of Yarwood while Dad, Alan, chatted to Joe.
Lovely to meet you folks, enjoy your boating.
A ford now visible as the water levels continue to drop
Joe and I settled down in the afternoon to watch the Spanish Grand Prix before receiving more visitors at four o'clock. Ken and Sue, who we had met on Friday at the Castor beer festival, are very interested in a life afloat. We invited them over to see us and Yarwood and chat about living aboard a narrowboat. And again, lovely to meet you folks as well.
Well done for keeping your temper. Not sure I would have been quite so restrained. But sometimes it is just better to say nothing lol.
ReplyDeleteHappy cruising. Jo xx
Hi Jo
DeleteI didn't think 'restrained' thoughts but I managed to kip a zip on the lip!
take care
Lesley
You should have wished him well and said to be careful he didn't hit a tree root on his bike... go partially over the handlebars... get the brake handle lodged in an unfortunate area... then fall in the river, knocking himself out on the way in. Or is that just me being a bit mean?
ReplyDeleteAbby :)
Now let me think, are you being mean?
DeleteOk, I've thought and..
You are not being mean and surprisingly, I was having the same thoughts!
X Lesley
Hi Lesley, I hope you don't mind me asking but are you still planning on taking Yarwood to Crick?
ReplyDeletePaula
Hi Paula
DeleteWe are not taking Yarwood to Crick and of course I don't mind you asking...
Stuart Harper of Barnowl narrowboats decided he didn't want to enter Crick this year so we were free to clear off...and we have!
Lesley
Lovely to meet you too, Katy was very excited to see her name on the internet! Thank you for showing us around your beautiful boat, I hope you managed to get to Peterborough today and Good Luck with the rest of your journey.
ReplyDeleteLouise
Hi Louise
DeleteYou were most welcome and Katie, yes here's your name again, was delightful!
Lesley
Never mind his "Sword Arm", I'd have used my "Long Bow" fingers.
ReplyDeleteHi John
DeleteI was tempted..
Lesley
I think the encounter with the cyclist (polite word for idiot) was probably more exciting than the GrandPrix. On TV this morning cyclist are again complaining that we don't understand them.
ReplyDeleteHi David
DeleteAgreed, the GP did lack any excitement, at least for us armchair followers anyway. It seems that mixing some cyclists with anything can cause problems. Isn't it the case that most cyclists who lose their lives under wheels of a lorry have ridden themselves up the inside of said lorry, or driven across a red light? And similarly, cyclists on footpaths who think they don't have to give way to anyone else, dismount at bridge holes or modify their speed when approaching walkers...
Bless 'em.
Lesley
The world is against them....Apart from just good manners you would think being so vunerable on the roads would make them more careful and not putting themselves in danger, then expecting everyone else for their lack of road sense. Glad the water are going down for you.
DeleteHi Lesley Joe and dogs. Really nice to meet you all, Graham and Jill too. Thank you so much for showing us your great boat and so spuring us on to my dream. We hope to meet you again some day and wish you all the very best for your future cruising.
ReplyDeleteKen and Sue.
P.S. Peterborough beer festival on the embankment last week in August would make a nice mooring?
Hi ken and Sue
DeleteEnjoy Crick and best wishes for a life afloat!
Lesley
The ford in the photograph, is that the actual channel and is there sufficient water to allow a narrow boat to pass? Am thinking the average automobile might not appreciate being stuck in the middle of canal which they had attempted to cross.
ReplyDeleteSuch "crossings" are never seen here in Southern Ontario, but then neither are narrow boats. A Great Lakes freighter is 600 feet long and some 40 feet in width. and the draft is about 28 feet, unladen.
Hi Bryce
ReplyDeleteMost narrowboats have a draught that ranges from 20" to 36". Yarwood has a 26" draught. Narrowboats are peculiar to the UK as is the narrow canal network that they were built for.
The ford I photographed is not on the navigation channel but is on a mill stream adjacent to the main river. We were crossing this mill stream on our daily wanderings with the dogs and it was a favourite route to the local pub of course!
Good to here from Canada
best wishes
Lesley