A Surprise Visit to Jim Sparkes at Alexander's

Monday 25th August, 2014 in Stourport.
Our trip out with Charles and family yesterday had left MM pointing in the wrong direction so, after breakfast, we went down through the lock back into the Upper Basin to turn around. The visitors' mooring on the wharf was free, so we moored up there again and filled MM with water (always a comforting feeling to have a full water tank).
Today, we had an unexpected and very enjoyable trip out. Our friends and fellow narrowboaters Jackie and Mick had been in touch to say that Jackie's cousin Sue and husband Andrew were having a narrow boat built at Alexander's in Stourport by Jim Sparkes (who also built the shell for MM) and they were going to visit Alexander's today.  They had also asked to look round MM to get some ideas. We arranged to meet and they very kindly agreed that they would first pick us up and take us with them to see their boat shell at Alexander's.
It was lovely to meet them and their gorgeous golden retriever "Wilbur". We drove to Alexander's about midday and Jim's face was a picture when he saw us! The last time that we had seen him was at Crick Boat Show last year; M gave him a BIG hug.

Sue and Andrew's shell was more advanced that they'd been expecting; it was a delight to see how excited they were and it brought back many happy memories of our own build. Their boat is a bit special as Andrew is six foot ten inches and their narrowboat will have extra headroom so that he can stand up in it; Jim has very cleverly factored in the extra height in the structure of the hull.

They already have a name for her, "La Tortuga" and Jim estimates that the shell will be completed before the end of September, at which time it will be loaded on to a flat-bed and driven to Fernwood in Leicestershire for the fit-out. Fernwood has an excellent reputation (on a par with Kingsground) and we are sure that they will have a very special narrowboat in the spring. Fernwood is talking about showing "La Tortuga" at the Crick Show next year as it will be quite unusual with its extra headroom and can be promoted as "a boat for a tall person".
Afterwards we returned to MM and spent a happy hour or so showing them round and discussing some of the ideas we incorporated in her. We are sure that they went away with lots to think about for their own build.
It was lovely to meet them and to share their enthusiasm and excitement. We hope very much that we can stay in touch with them and we look forward to seeing "La Tortuga" when she is finished.
As they day progressed, the rain got steadily harder and harder - so when they left, we decided not to move today but to stay where we were.

It proved to be a good decision because the rain was unrelenting. It rained all the rest of the day and all through the night - well, it WAS a Bank Holiday, after all!
Today: 0 miles, 1 lock and 2.2 hours.
Trip: 245 miles, 151 locks and 180.5 hours.