Births,Baptism, Marriages ....and other stuff

A mixed bag over the last couple of weeks with the wedding of my friends Chris and Claire in Leighton Buzzard; a joyous occasion which passed off very smoothly,  A lovely ceremony at the local Baptist Church with a gathering in the evening at LB Golf Club. Pam wasn't able to join me as she was not the full ticket bronchitiswise but I enjoyed the day and was very happy to see two good people get hitched and to meet up with friends Mike and Mane and Pete and Judy.

Time to sign up...Chris looks like he's lost the pen|

You meet some dodgy types at weddings these days-Mike,Mane,Judy and Pete

As reported last time Jemima on the moorings produced 10 ducklings on 6th June-D(uck) Day
They seem to have disappeared for the moment-probably into the nearby marina where people are richer and throw more food away.

Roy's son Gordon, who crewed for us last year en route to Llangollen, paid a us a visit in company with Germaine and they went for a ride in the sunshine on Panther. Roy has three sons and they are all very decent types which is surprising given the father's such an idiot.

Down at Dudswell we have two additions to the canal family. A pair of cygnets, one of whom prefers to hitch a ride on mum's back.

On the subject of birds I spotted this pigeon (before he spotted me) at B and Coo in Hemel Hempstead.

And out for a walk on Ashridge this little chap was having lunch

The garden is coming together and the prospect of fresh veg increases daily with high hopes for broad beans, my favourite,

Budgie who has a mooring further north has outshone everybody in the gardening department but I don't think he has grown any veg so that's my speciality.

The World Cup has started. It's like Marmite, anathema to some, a source of great pleasure to others.
I was at the Final in 1966 and at the age of 19 assumed I would see the trophy lifted by an England captain a few more times before the final whistle blew and I was redcarded into that Great Stadium in the Sky.

Cowroast Poppy

I'm not so sure now at the age of 67 and having tortured my way through so many England dismissals. I was reasonably confident of a semi final place until we lost 2-1 to the Italians. England played well but the basics remain unchanged, If you can't score at their end and stop them from scoring at the other then it's goodnight

There have been a few surprises not the least the dismissal after just two games of the mighty Spain. An inauspicious start to the reign of the new King Phillipe.......I wonder if Uruguay has a monarchy?.......




Plans are being formulated for a Summer Cruise. This year I am travelling to the Ashby Canal for the Shackerstone Festival (5/6/7 Sept)where Independence will meet up with Mac and Carrie on Griffin for the return journey. As usual being the sad lonely bore that I am crew will have to be bought or shanghied to get me there and back but at least it's not the rather complicated affair that was necessary getting to Llangollen and back last year.

The Shackerstone Festival

Some sad news.

 Battlecat turned up his paws in the early hours of Friday 13th.
Some 22 years old he was given a suitable obit on Facebook by Ollie which resulted in universal sympathy from all whose path he had crossed
"It is my sad duty to report the demise of a legend. Battle Cat Aphex Nicklin took a final cat nap last night, never to wake again. He was without doubt one of the finest felines ever to stalk the earth, a friend and formidable foe to many over his 22ish years with us. Bye mate, you shall be missed"

BC shows me where I've gone wrong with the crossword

A good old boy whose time had come after a life where he had the best it could offer to a cat.

I wonder if he's in Purrgatory?





To end on a high note.
We journeyed to Yorkshire for the Christening of Daniel, Pam's Great Nephew.

The Christening service and party afterwards were most enjoyable although I felt a little wobbly as I had a late night watching England v Italy. To be fair the night started at the Clothiers pub in Yeadon with the star of the show, Daniel plus Mum Nicola, Dad David and friend Chrissie. Then on to Horsforth for dinner in the Fox with Tricia, Tony, Ewa and Sean. A very convivial evening. I had already sussed out a pub in Yeadon near the b & B called The Crown to watch the game and a very friendly pub it was too.

We booked into the wonderful Willow Cottage in Yeadon. An excellent B and B in a lovely old house so tastefully decorated. Tip top rooms and breakfast and ideally suited to our needs


The cottage is owned and run by Julie and Harvey who made us most welcome and all very reasonably priced.

The Christening

After a very pleasant weekend where Pam did all the driving we returned via Mac and Julia's new house at North Wingfield. 
Well it 

Money for Old Rope

was new to us as we hadn't been before but they have lived there nearly a year. Julia and Pam went for a wander and Mac and I sat in the sunshineaand chewed the cud, He very kindly road tested a couple of new beers (very nice too)on me so I'm afraid Pam didn't get a lot of conversation on the way home. 

The story behind the beer's name is interesting

Another high note!
Last night I hopped on a bus to Berko to shop at the new M&S and met up with Jaq and Les from NB Valerie. They were on their way to celebrate their wedding anniversary and both looked very well. Good to see them. Happy Anniversary!