Fun and games at the BCF barbecue weekend

Jan and I drove to the Trent and Mersey Canal in Staffordshire yesterday to join some other members of the Boaters' Christian Fellowship for a weekend of, well, fellowship. Thanks to Peter and Julie Thorn for hosting. We arrived to a great cheer, which, we quickly discovered, hadn't actually been intended for us. We acknowledged it, however, as we walked in to the marquee. The first event for us was a very welcome barbecue with loads of food.

After that came the fun and games.

David and Sue Botham had organised a series of challenges which included seeing how close to a mooring pin you could throw the end of a rope. Andrew Spolton showed us how to do it.


Exactly how close was measured in feet and inches by David.


Another challenge was to try to get a horseshoe as close as possible to the pin. This is Jan having a go.


And then there was the grass skiing. Two planks of wood, each with two foot holds, for two people to coordinate themselves sufficiently well to be able to navigate a route in the garden.

Here's David getting two teams under way.


Alan and Hazel Dilnot pass Maid of Oak en route to disaster.


As they rounded the narrowboat bush one of the footholds gave way, and they ended up in a heap on the ground. Unfortunately Hazel twisted her foot, but I believe it's now getting better.


There were about fifty of us yesterday, dwindling to about thirty today. After a communion service in the marquee this morning we arranged ourselves for a group photo. This is my hurried self-timed attempt (sorry David, you've been cut off!)


The weather has been a mix of sunshine and showers - the marquee has been invaluable!