Beers @ Pollington, and Thorne. Tanqueray @ Keadby

Friend Steph on NB Witchboy was on her way from Selby, and going in the same direction as us. She had her chums Butch and Joan aboard. So we all agreed to meet at Pollington, there we were joined by new friend Richard on his NB Firefly, and as we were all going in the same direction for a few days, its was “sundowners” together for 3 nights running. !!!!! So we all had some beer and good times at Pollington. Next day on to Thorne. Found a good pub .!We needed it , after the fun n games at the lock.

Whilst at Polington, this lady had a super dog called Calder( after aire and calder). Sue in Spain likes these dogs, so here are some pics just for you,Sue. He was very shy.

These people were NOT shy. !

Fun n Games @ Thorne Lock.

4 boats, lock only takes 2 boats at a time, with the added attraction that there is a swing bridge 3 foot before the lock. So one prepares the lock, then opens swing bridge, boats in, close lock doors, and CLOSE SWING BRIDGE. This was a big point here, with the following problems.
Now, this is all actioned by a key, and you can’t get your key OUT until all procedures have been done in the correct order. Something to remember.

So lady with key, in the boat going in with us, asks if she is doing all ok. yep says I. , she has the lock prepared, so I go and open swingbridge, in come her boat and mine(Trundle).I then ask a bloke in a striped t-shirt ( for future reference, keep well away from blokes in striped t-shirts), if it’s a busy road, no says he its only a footpath. So methinks “AAAH, I will leave it open, for NB Witchboy and NB Firefly, as they
will be using lock next, hence saving a bit of time and energy” WRONG.

By this time a load of gongoozlers have turned up. Hey quite a crowd.

So boats are in, they have descended the lock, gone out the gates, and we are ready for next 2 boats( Steph and Richard) except that this woman can’t get her key out, so can’t go anywhere until she has. ! a slightly bigger crowd now and that bloke with the striped t-shirt has disappeared.

We try closing swing bridge gates in different sets of sequences, to no avail, and then this small voice from a bush in his garden says “ aH you ‘avin’a bit of trouble ?”. no mate, we just like to create a bit of diversion and fun at locks. Steph is flying about yanking on gates and shouting “ I’ve got it, I’ve got it”. Err, no you haven’t.
Various people have a go at pulling and tugging the key. the nice lady and I let them get on with it, as we have just discovered that she lives nr Spalding, and are engrossed in “ do you know?” “ have you been?” conversations. Mick and her husband are standing by their boats looking quizzical, and Micks also stating “ we have got to go, as we need wine, cheese, wine , milk wine etc “ “ leave them to it “

Finally the small voice from the bushes in his garden gets through to us, that we have to do everything in sequence as its all to do with the dreaded “ elf n safety”.The swing bridge MUST be closed each time, in case an ambulance needs to use the FOOTPATH.
We finally get it sorted. . the punters have all pushed off now, as they have had their laughs, and I am looking for the bloke in the striped t-shirt to give him a slap .

A few beers in the pub put everything right.

Steph reversing into to raft up against us. Finlay and Bessy. Rafted up, almost. !

Next day , and its another lovely one, we move off to Keadby.

The lock here will put us onto the tidal Trent, where we will then positively fly along with the tide ( 8mph ! that’s very fast for us ). However, the description of the “ town” of Keadby,( from the book we use to find our way around the system) states it as “ a dull settlement gone into a decline “. Hee hee, they weren’t wrong. However, the moorings were fine, nice grass, trees etc.We all had time to pass, so it was buckets and sponges out to clean down the boats. ( once one starts, they all start). I said that I would "save my cleaning", until a better time. ( Sue-ism).

We had a lovely evening, Butch supplied a bottle of tanqueray gin(bit of a toff gin, this one, nice and strong though), I brought tonic, lemons to the table, and there were offerings of nibbles too. We all had a couple, hic. wheres the boat ? Richard likes to stick with his cider. and then back to our respective boats ready for the morning. I think after 2 nights of partying, we were all starting to feel a bit knackered

Checking anchors and chains. We borrowed Life preservers from Ri chard. One bloke asked me If I wanted to borrow his spare VHF radio???? I wouldn’t know how to use one. We never even bothered with all this on the way up. But better safe than sorry. though

So Steph and crew went off at 9.30, as they had further to go. Trundle and Firefly went at 11.30 as we were off to explore the Chesterfield Canal.

Out onto the Trent.