Our valley was mostly grey and rather uninspiring again today. We’d spent our best spell of sunshine waiting in various queues inside Dénia hospital. Once again, however, the skies looked as though they might be brighter towards the coast so,…
Author: Franco
A Novel Experience
Francine had a disturbing night; she was complaining of lights or streaks in the right periphery of her vision, most noticeable in the dark. The effect was still there this morning. We were supposed to be going for a walk…
Posted in 2014 Spain
Got the Bug
After a lazy Sunday recovering from our day travelling to get here – lazy apart from an early morning run back to Alicante airport to drop our hosts off for their flight back to Blighty, that is – our valley…
Posted in 2014 Spain
The Joys of Travel
Once again we’ve been invited out to Jalón, Spain, to look after a house and our favourite little dog. Of course, when it comes to me and dogs, favourite doesn’t mean very much ‘cos I don’t like ‘em. This one,…
Posted in 2014 Spain
The Final Sprint
I say sprint ‘cos today was a short run of just about 2 miles, about an hour, back to Juniper’s home base at Wyvern Shipping in Leighton Buzzard. Narrow boats don’t really sprint even when they are not having to…
Posted in 2014 The Thames Ring
Olympic Locking
Our penultimate day. Having made good time round The Ring and looking as though we’d complete the trip with a few days in hand, there had been talk aboard of using our extra time diverting down the Aylesbury Arm and…
Posted in 2014 The Thames Ring
22-Lock Warm Up
Working ones way north up the Grand Union Canal from London involves a lot of locks. After a lazy day yesterday getting to the north-western side of Watford, today we were anticipating tackling 23 locks along the 11-mile stretch to…
Posted in 2014 The Thames Ring
Spreading Parakeets
Whilst moored at Denham, Francine and I had been a little surprised at hearing the tell-tale squeak of Rose-ringed Parakeets (Psittacula krameri) around us. The sound of the bright green parrots was unmistakable. Given that they’d spread from Richmond park…
Posted in 2014 The Thames Ring
Tension and Depression
At the risk of repeating myself, entry onto the tidal part of the River Thames through Teddington Locks and subsequent exit from the tidal part of the River Thames onto the Grand Union Canal through Thames lock at Brentford is…
Posted in 2014 The Thames Ring
Preparing to Leave the Thames
After a night spent mainly in the company of my blocked nose and hacking cough, Captain Virginia didn’t want an under-the-weather Franco to have to deal with a Thames lock manually, so we left Windsor at 9:00 AM, when the…
Posted in 2014 The Thames Ring
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