A Day trip to Milton Keynes.

Wednesday 1st July, 2015 at Church Minshull.
July already? How did that happen?
Another very hot and humid day; the radio says it's the hottest day for 10 years.
R had a business meeting in Milton Keynes and so walked down to the Badger Inn in the village very early where a taxi was waiting to take him the five miles to Crewe railway station. He looked very smart in his best shirt and trousers, and with his new haircut!

While M was busy being domestic, she looked up to see a familiar narrowboat going slowly past. To her surprise and joy, it was Terry with his partner Pat on her narrowboat "Quercus".  Terry was our instructor on our three day Helmsman's Course in 2008. We have always kept in touch but had no idea that he would be out on "the cut". M just had time to race to the stern deck and exchange greetings as their boat passed by. Terry called out that they were heading for Liverpool. How M wished that there had been time for a proper catch-up.
By the time M got the camera out, they were half way to the bridge.

R's trains were fast both ways and so, to M's surprise, he was back before teatime.
A quiet afternoon was the order of the day, so R had a chance to relax after his dash to Milton Keynes. We set up the picnic chairs on the wide grass towpath that had been recently mown.
A good few boats arrived in the course of the afternoon and moored up. Soon there was quite a little community of boaters all exchanging views and gossip.
During the afternoon, we were visited by a family of swans. We fed them a little duck food, which they seemed to appreciate, but two children on the boat behind us fed them for most of the afternoon to the extent that we were worried the swans would sink!

We had our supper sitting out on the chairs, enjoying the warm summer evening and the view across the valley towards the village.

That is, until dusk, when a thunderstorm arrived, hardly surprising given the heat and humidity of the day.
We lay in bed watching the full moon rise in the east before disappearing into the storm clouds. We fell asleep to the rumble of distant thunder and the sound of rain on the roof. Magic!
Today, MM rested and didn't move.