Polesworth

Moored two feet from the bank it was expected that we find ourselves aground this morning.  However, putting the engine into reverse and pushing from the bank finally got us off.  Surprisingly, even at the late hour of 8:00 am (for us) other boats were already on the move.   We needed diesel and Streethay was not far off, so we could not arrive too early.  We got very prompt and firendly service and were soon on our way after retrieving another plastic bag from the propellor.  Pressing on, boats seemed to appear at every bridge hole necessitating hard reverse, the guaranteed way of picking up plastic.  This part of the Coventry Canal has not yet had the dredging that the Staff & Worcs has benefitted from and supports very heavy traffic, so further erosion is inevitable.   We stopped briefly at Hopwas so that Pat could get a paper and then aimed for Polesworth.  Passing Fazeley we expect Glascote Locks, usually a busy spot as isolated locks tend to be.  We were not disappointed.   The queue stretched back to the railway bridge - about 7 boats.   As always a chance to chat and meet new folk.   Ahead of us was a couple of Kiwis who to their surprise found that the Canaltime boat in front was also crewed by New Zealanders.  We had a wait of 1 hour 50 minutes in intermittent heavy rain showers.   Pat has a painful thumb and it is not good for her to be using the windlass, so it is an opportunity to encourage her to manage the boat in locks instead.  The Kiwis back set the next lock for us which was very helpful and oppopsite direction traffic at the top gave us a quick getaway.  Sooner than expected we reached Polesworth and its tidy moorings.   No decent TV signal here though as were are behind a hill.