Wednesday 10th August

I spent a few very pleasant days in Worcester. Victoria came up on Thursday in Richard’s car and then Richard went home – it was really nice to have some quality Mother and Daughter time J We went to Cadbury World on Friday on the train which didn’t take us very long. The visit was very interesting and I have to say that I learnt a lot about the history and the making of chocolate. By the time we got back to Mary H in the evening Penny and Jim had arrived and cooked us dinner, which was much appreciated. Saturday was the beginning of the month long Worcester festival and when Victoria and I went shopping we came across some street entertainment which really was excellent. In the afternoon Penny and I went to Sainsburys in the car - luxury! We all went to Morning Service in Cathedral on Sunday – the singing was lovely as it was a special service for the festival. Richard came back on Sunday afternoon but Victoria stayed on until the evening. We had a lovely day on Monday as my Mother and Step Father joined us and we took both boats out onto the Severn, tied them together and then set off upstream! It was a little chilly but everyone enjoyed the day and it is such a sociable way of cruising. Tuesday was a day for catching up. Richard had brought up all my mail so I had to deal with that plus I had washing and ironing to do – why is it everything takes so much longer to do than you think it will!

So now its Wednesday and the start of the Avon Ring. We left Worcester about 10.30am but it took us ages to get through the two Diglis Locks as they are very slow and heavy. Once again we tied the two boats together but this time set off downstream towards Tewkesbury. Lunch was “on the hoof” with food appearing out of both boats and then down 4 hungry people! The journey down was lovely but windy with only one lock which was just as we left Worcester. We passed by Upton-on-Severn which looked really nice and certainly deserves a visit sometime. Fortunately Penny and Jim knew where the turning was onto the Avon otherwise we would probably have passed it then looked back and seen it! We untied and went into the first lock where we had to pay the licence for the Avon. Jim had arranged for us to moor overnight at Tewkesbury Marina which was just as well as the town was very busy. The photo on the left is of Niamh, Penny and Jim’s dog who, I’m sure, will feature further on these pages!