Side hatch rain protector

It's been a long, long time - but we are, at last, under way on board Jubilee again. And I'm doing another blog post. I should have blogged during lockdown, I suppose - after all, I had enough time - but, as with doing my tax return, I managed to keep putting it off. Now the rules are being relaxed and we are allowed to stay overnight on our boat, so here we are. In Polesworth, as it happens.

We set off from our mooring in Fazeley at about midday when it wasn't really raining. Our first lock for ten months (!) was Glascote Bottom Lock.

Locks! Hooray!

As we steered along the Coventry Canal we passed a boat with an interesting rain hood for the side hatch.

Not much good in windy weather, I imagine, but just right for today's still but drizzly conditions.

At 5 o'clock, with the rain getting heavier, we decided to stop. We should be able to do the Atherstone flight tomorrow in the dry, if the forecast is accurate. For tea we had the remains of yesterday's curry which we enjoyed with Andrew at an Indian restaurant in Sheffield, the first meal out for a long time.

We had come to the boat on Monday, driving up to Sheffield the next day. Only a couple of hours after getting to the boat nb Harnser came past with Brian and Diana on board. They were going to be heading our way, towards Coventry, but had detoured up the Birmingham and Fazeley to allow a stream of boats to clear Glascote and Atherstone Locks.

Jan will be having a long-waited for hair cut in Atherstone tomorrow afternoon, then we shall crack on to Bedworth. We are on our way to Debdale Wharf for blacking, something which should have happened in March or April.

It's good to be back.