Friday 11 August
Reading to Sonning
For the last few days we have been low on water. Not a problem for me and Rosie at all, but my humans decided we needed to fill-up the tank today. Whilst looking in our ‘Collins-Nicholson guide’ for a water point, Tom noticed we were close to a marina, so decided we may as well call in there. In addition to water, he would fill up with diesel and use the pump-out – just in case facilities are not so frequent on the River Thames over the next week or so.
The water-tap was so slow that whilst filling up both humans took showers. Rosie, Leigh and I disposed of our rubbish and had a nice walk too. There were some very, very posh boats in the marina. Not surprising I guess, considering we are now on the Thames in Royal Berkshire. Yelp!
After lunch Leigh and Tom moored up outside a Tesco Express. Now, Tesco is not a shop Leigh would choose to give her business to, but needs-must. When you need to do a big-shop – because you have no idea when you will be close enough to a supermarket again…and you need (note ‘need’) gin – you end up throwing your preferences out of the pram.
After yesterday’s disappointment with Aldi, Tesco caused Leigh to wonder if they – or their customers – have losttheplot. This is why: a bottle of own-brand gin was £15 for 70cl: next to it were (half) bottles of own-brand gin, priced at £10 for two 35cl bottles. Of course, Leigh went for the two half-bottles but I reckon many people just buy the £15 bottle without even thinking. Talk about trying to confuse the customer. Yelp!
We then took about a twenty-minute cruise to scenic Sonning. What a gorgeous little place this is? Stunning Church, some grand old houses (oddly, virtually every single one boasts a name…the old school is split into two dwellings with one called ‘School House’ and t’other ‘Masters’) and pretty little gardens. It’s just a tad busy car-wise; it appears to be used as a cut-through from somewhere!
We moored at the side of the Thames courtesy of a private mooring. Whoever owns this piece of land has a sense of humour and a caring side. Although they charge (£10 for twenty-four hours) the money is simply popped in an envelope and into the post-box in the wall of their garden. All mooring fees go to charity. That’s nice. That’s really nice.
As for a sense of humour – see the photo below!
Woofs, Martha x
P.S. Leigh has Blackberry Vodka and Blackberry Gin in kilner jars awaiting bottling in about six-weeks! She’s very proud of herself. I think she is just flaunting her foraging – diva!!
Thursday 10 August
Burghfield Bridge to Reading
We enjoyed a lovely cruise this morning; decent weather makes all the difference. Only having about three locks to work made Leigh feel like she was having a day off!
Approaching Reading centre Tom dropped Leigh off to open the lock. Two hilarious things occurred. Leigh is scared of birds – she is fine at a distance and she loves to hear and watch them but getting upcloseandpersonal is a no-no. She could see about a dozen ducks and half a dozen geese sunbathing on the lock landing for County Lock; walking tentatively and saying, ‘You’ll need to move please girls’, did encourage the ducks to dive in the water but the Canadian Geese ignored her completely – even when she waved her arms as instructed by Tom! Tom had to go to her rescue. If he hadn’t I swear we would still be there now.
The second laughable situation was as Leigh was waiting for the lock to fill. A man was feeding pigeons (why, heaven knows). Tom, Rosie and I could see what was about to happen and we were in fits of laughter. As the man threw the food the flock of pigeons swooped…right over Leigh’s head. Three times!
What made it even funnier was the sight of Leigh – clearly trying to stay cool – bending down over the gate pretending to look at the canal to avoid the swooping birds. Yelp!
Whilst working the lock, the woman whose boat had just come out, asked Leigh, ‘What is the best way to work the paddles and do you have to wind them down, or can you let them drop?’
Staggered and a bit bamboozled (after all, everyone should be shown how to work a lock before they are let loose), Leigh replied, ‘You absolutely have to wind them – if you let them drop you can break the paddles’. She didn’t labour the point, but when relaying the conversation to another boater later in the day, she and the other boater agreed, ‘Some people just shouldn’t be out on a boat’. Yelp!
After the lock you actually have a set of traffic lights at a development called ‘The Oracle’. As soon as you are through County Lock you have to run and press the button – just like at a pedestrian crossing – and wait for the lights to go green; reason being the cut is very narrow with several sharp bends. In essence, The Oracle is a huge shoppingandeating complex with lotsandlotsandlots of apartments – very similar to Gloucester, Birmingham and Bristol.
Because we have been pretty rural for a while it was a bitofacultureshock to arrive at the Oracle. Although I’ve described it briefly above, I have to agree with Tom (and another boater) who both said, ‘It’s a bit surreal when you reach the Oracle, you feel like you have arrived in a theme park – or Las Vegas!’
Leigh and I were pleasantly surprised by Reading. You may wonder what on earth I mean, after all, Leigh has family in the area and has been visiting for many years but…she hadn’t explored the centre as an adult so had pre-conceived opinions! If you remember, she felt the same about Birmingham until we stayed there for a couple of weeks on the N.B. last year.
The beauty of Reading is visible in the stunning designs of the old canal-cottages, the Flint Churches, Forbury Park which contains a memorial to the memory of those who died in the Afghan War – a lion whose every muscle can be seen, such is the skill of the creator – and the ruins of the twelve-century Abbey. Of course, the famous biscuiteers had their origin in Reading too – Huntley and Palmers.
What I hadn’t realised is Oscar Wilde had been imprisoned in Reading Gaol, Jane Austen went to school at the Abbey Gateway, Henry I founded Reading Abbey and four-hundred-years later it became a Royal Palace. There are several museums here – we didn’t get to visit this time round – making Reading a super place to visit for a weekend.
After a couple of walks this afternoon and evening, Leigh and Tom strode out to find a supermarket – Aldi. The good news is that Leigh bought a bottle of Vodka which with to make blackberry vodka. The bad news is that she saw just how much food goes to waste.
The assistant told her, ‘Madam, you are not allowed to photograph this’. ‘This’ was a waste bin, into which he was throwing potoatoes (still in their plastic bag) and pasta (he had opened the bag and throwing this in ‘loose’) amongst many other produce. He spoke too late though – Leigh had already snapped him! She did ask, ‘Is all of that going to waste’, to which he simply replied, ‘Yes’. Yelp!
Woofs, Martha X