Kingston (River Thames) – Monday 6th July

We woke up this morning and had both been thinking through the night about changing our plans.  We had planned to go up to Shepperton and then go down the River Wey and up the Basingstoke Canal.  However Ray and Diane are going up to Lechlade which is our ultimate destination.  Should we or shouldn’t we change our plans and ask if we could tag along with great company.  The hardest choice was about my son, Robert, who is supposed to be coming to help us up the locks on the Basingstoke, anyway I rang him and he said that we had to go where the water took us!!  What a lovely thing to say.  I asked Diane if they minded us tagging along and they were more than happy so we cancelled the Basingstoke Canal and will now head upstream and catch them up above Windsor.  I am still hoping that Robert will join us for a couple of days.

  

The view from the side hatch

Ray and Diane left about 10.30am to go up to Hampton Court and to visit it.  Before they left they came onboard to have a look at the new kitchen and Ray asked if he could feel beneath my drawers!!  I have heard some interesting chat up lines but not like this!!  Actually he wanted to feel how low our new hob comes down and needed to feel in the drawer below it!!!

I had a quiet morning though Richard was busy cleaning the outside of the boat (a blue job) then we turned her round so he could do the other side (still a blue job!).  I hasten to add that I wasn’t sitting with my feet up but I can’t remember what I was doing!

  

The moorings from Kingston Bridge

In the afternoon I walked into Kingston to do some shopping.  The arm of one of my pairs of glasses was wonky so I needed to find a Specsavers, which I did and they mended it while I waited.  It was then into Waitrose to stock up on stuff for my new FREEZER :-)  Yes I now have a freezer and I am so excited!!  For years I have moaned that I could do with one but there was nowhere to put one but with the new galley arrangement there is room.  It isn’t very big but I got peas, sweetcorn and chips in the bottom and quite a bit of meat in the top and there is still room.  Isn’t it sad when one gets excited about a freezer?? 

 

I am suffering with a bad back so Richard said to give him a ring when I had finished shopping and he would come and meet me to carry it.  I came out of Waitrose and rang …. and rang – four times in all.  I was not a happy bunny when I got back with my back aching like mad.  What had happened?  Richard and his son had been to the cinema on Saturday and yes – you guessed it - he had forgotten to put the phone back from silent! 

After my recovery I cooked supper and took great delight in using frozen peas from my freezer!