We left Norton Junction at 7:40 in light rain and cold again. Nuggler settled into an easy smooth and steady pace broken ony by having to slow down for the odd moored boat (Including Jannock!!). We kept the pace up through Braunston Tunnel and emerged almost piling at full chat into the residue of a large landslip on the offside. Opposite direction boats occurred going down the lock flight into Braunston, causing us to wait each time - and gave us cause to ponder the strange things other boaters do. For example: You emerge from a lock with opposite direction traffic ascending in the lock below. You leave your gate(s) open for them as a courtesy don't you! Not this boater who offered to help me. "I shut them to save water".
At Braunston Pat ran up the hill to the local stores. She must have ran because she was waiting for me when I came back from Tradline having purchased a new mooring rope. At Calcutt we got entnagled with a couple who had just taken delivery of a rusty boat and who appeared to have never worked a lock before. Talk about a baptism of fire. Destined eventually for Saul, they will have Hatton to cope with in a couple of days. We took them down the three and then they lagged behind and there was no sign of them by the top of Stockton Locks. We shot down the first few, but then got held up again by the irritating practice of opposite direction boaters who have an outrider setting locks ahead. Now we are moored at the Blue Lias, setting for the CUTWEB annual GIG, so named the Christmas Party. If you are a boater and reading this, you must be computer literate enough to be a member, so if not already why not join. Details here.
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