Short cruise coming up

I've bought the train tickets, I've packed some things, now I'm looking forward to taking Jubilee to the Blisworth Arm (I'm not sure that I had realised there was such a thing). The purpose of the trip is to leave the boat with the Grand Junction Boat Co. for them to investigate the mystery of the disappearing central heating water. I'll ask them if they can fix the leaky mixer tap in the galley while they're at it.

The mixer tap leak? Well, it doesn't leak now, but that's only because we remember never to twist it. The H and C taps work fine, without dripping, but as soon as the spout is moved to a different position water leaks out of the join between the moving part and the fixed part. I have taken it apart and tried replacing various O-rings, but to no avail. And it's important to sort it out as the mixer tap is mounted on the wooden worktop. Any leakage is tending to rot the wood - not what we want.

Actually, what Jan wants is a complete replacement sink/drainer unit with the tap(s) mounted into the stainless steel. I agree that that might be better, but I don't know how that would be achieved without spoiling the nice look of the worktop.

So, the timings: my train leaves Wymondham at 0952 tomorrow. I change at Cambridge for the train to King's Cross. Then I have nearly 50 minutes to get all the way to Euston, a ten minute walk away (or 5 mins by bike). The train leaves Euston at 1254 and gets to Wolverton at 1352. Then I'll cycle to Thrupp Wharf Marina, which will probably take 45 mins. I might call in at the North Western for lunch.

At the boat I don't think I'll have enough daylight to get up Stoke Bruerne Locks, so I'll stop overnight at the bottom, continuing to the boatyard (actually at Gayton Junction) on Friday morning. After handing the boat over I'll then cycle the 13.5 miles back to Wolverton Station to catch the 1237 to Euston. Hmm. I'd better allow two hours for this, just in case. That means leaving the boatyard at about 1030, so I'll have to start on the locks at 0700 to be sure of getting to the yard with enough time for handing over. I'll be single handed so I need to give myself plenty of time, especially if there's tons of water pouring over the top gates making them difficult to open.

Perhaps I'll have enough time to get up some of the locks before I run out of daylight tomorrow...