On board again

We got to Milton Keynes at about midday having spent three days with my brother and his family in London. The journey across town was traffic-free, and the M1 started OK, but had ground to a halt by Junction 11. So we diverted via Dunstable and the A5 - surprisingly traffic-free once more.

We got some provisions from Tesco in Wolverton and bumped into Adrian of Briar Rose there. Having discovered that he was going to be on his own until Adam arrived in the late evening, we suggested that he came over to Jubilee for drinks in the early evening. Unfortunately, when I knocked on his window later on, his cold had worsened and he had to decline our invitation.

Before that, though, we had a family gathering on board. (Daughter) Ally and Ben came over; and so did (son) Andrew and Bekka. We enjoyed a splendid meal, cooked by Jan, before opening our Christmas presents to each other.

The stove was going a treat and we all had a good time. It's difficult for me to supply pictures as the "old" computer, the one which I usually use for blogging when away, has died. I should have asked Andrew to have a look - he's good with that sort of thing. (I'm writing this on Jan's much newer laptop, on which I have not yet installed a photo resizing programme.)

We're planning to take the boat out for a couple of days before returning to help Ally and Ben with the house. We might go to Stoke Bruerne, or we might go the other way towards Leighton Buzzard. (My preference is to go north - I like locks; and I would really like to try the Indian restaurant at SB which others have written encouragingly about. But we'll decide in the morning.)