A Watery Theme

We returned from our stay in the Peak District three days ago. We had a good time there despite the decidedly wintery weather. The pond ice eventually melted and LB caught some fish. I'd booked onto a Photography course at the end of the week and manged to get a few decent photos as well as learning quite a lot.

The end of the week was marred by the news that the outboard on our boat had been stolen. Thieves broke through the hedge into the boatfield and stole seven outboards. We drove down yesterday to inspect the damage and were relieved to find the boat intact though engineless. They'd cut through the bolts holding it in place without damaging the boat at all. they left the hoses and mounting plate in situ. we're nowin the process of claiming on our insurance. We'll have time to look around for a new engine before the boaingt season starts.

Finally today we took a trip to see the Severn Bore. It's the first time either of us had seen it despite living fairly close. It was an early start. We knew there could be large crowds so the alarm was set for 5.30, we left the house at 6.30 and arrived at Minsterworth just after 7.30. Plenty of people were already there but we managed to park easily and then had an hour and a half wait till the bore arrived. There was quite a party atmosphere and we were kept entertained by the surfers and other craft on the water. This included a group floating by on blow up armchairs while wearing dinner jackets! The bore arrived with a host of surfers, canoeists and a few boats while a microlight and helicopter flew overhead. It only took about 30 seconds to pass leaving most of the surfers in its wake! It was a great occasion although the surfers were disappointed that it wasn't as large as predicted. The local tv crews were kept busy interviewing the more interesing participants afterwards. We were also blessed with lovely weather. Temperatures were near zero initially but with a cloudless sky and rare sunshine it felt very pleasant.

Elvie