Chairs were put out before long this morning and the model engineers arrived to set up their miniature traction engines. 
The smell of coal smoke soon pervaded the air. 
Once steam was up the engines did a sort of parade around the pub garden from the adjacent field. Each towed a cart on which the engineer sat. Steam narrow boat Adamant moved over and was fired up. A beautiful mechanism with a multi-tube boiler and a compound steam engine with a condenser, so it is very quiet in use. Later in the afternoon Laplander arrived at Stockton Top Lock and a greeting party went up
(below - Laplander arrives at StocktonTop Lock)
with windlasses to see it down. 
It made a very rapid descent unimpeded by other boats. After the dinner the "Cutweb Strollinging Players" performed the short play "Without a paddle" - based very loosely on 'Allo 'Allo. Great stuff. On return to the boat there was a suspicion that that we had no water on tap, then mysteriously we did. A puzzle.
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