Waiting.....................................

More evidence that the Sun shines on the righteous,

 it never rains in England in June,

Beer is God's way of saying he loves us,

and

Everything comes to those who wait. 

Notice to Mariners

 from

 The Thames Conservancy. 

Locking Down

Waiting for the gates to open. 

Shifford the most isolated and pretty lock on the river.  

Shifford,  morning light. 

Waiting for her Master and Commander

Not abandoned, just waiting for some TLC. 

Washing Day at Eynsham.

Waiting..................................

Chris Adney shows some style in Pollyanna.

Waiting for Opening Time, 

early doors in Oxford 

Worth waiting for 

Voyageurs and families meet up at The Punt.  

The fore-mentioned Red Floaty Things. 

Chris Partridge keeps left....................................

........................................of the Weir 

Abingdon, 

where due to some confusing meanders the sun seems to rise in the west.

 Gets me every time. 

A band of water gypsies.

 ...................sometimes he just sits. 

Five Bridges Suite. Nice.

Some reminiscences from the 2017 HBBR Thames Raid . 

Pooh Sticks at Bloomers Hole Footbridge.

Approaching Grafton Lock 

 In the foreground Mark proves you can camp-cruise on a Hobie Kayak. 

John & Josephine in their new self designed and built row cruiser proving

you can camp cruise with two in style. Ever get the feeling you're being watched? 

Adrian & Pete in Bram, an Iain Oughtred Beaver canoe. 

Roger & Paul play at being lock-keepers.

Roger arrives at "The Swan" by Radcot Bridge.

Reputed to be the oldest on the river.

The Bridge not Roger. 

Katie Beardie at rest by Radcot Bridge. 

Looks like its in a state of constant repair. (The Bridge). 

Will she Won't She?

  Buttock clenching moments under Ten Foot Bridge, with a nine and a half foot pole

 The Elegant arch of Tadpole Bridge conveniently situated right by yet another pub called

 "The Trout." 

We stopped for a pint and a look at the man's engine. 

The Splendour of Clifton Hampden Bridge designed by Sir Gilbert Scott,
More famous for designing St Pancras Station in London  

The Barley Mow pub, made famous by Jerome K Jerome (so good they named him twice) is just over the bridge. 

You have been warned! 

what the hell's a Skew Bridge?

Ah, so two-way traffic, on a bend, through the low arch of Godstow Bridge
 which was conveniently built at an angle across the river. Those Monks, always having a laugh. Hope there's nothing coming.  

A bridge too far?

Sunday Morning 5.00 am

Back in June this year the HBBR stalwarts gathered at Lechlade for our now annual Thames Rally to Beale Park Boat show. It might have been the anticipation of the journey to come or perhaps the call of nature that had me up and about at 5.00 am on the day of departure, but it was a lovely morning as the sun broke through and slowly burned off the early morning mist.    

No Kidding 

Tally Ho!

Welcome back.
Its been a very busy summer with one thing and a wedding, so there hasn't been much time for blogging, but now that the mellow and fruitful season of Strictly Come Dancing is well under way I might have more time to pay attention to this demanding mistress. I've given her a bit of a facelift and a tidy up, I hope you enjoy it.

I feel I might be the last one invited to the party with this story, but many thanks to my good friend John (Ratcatcher) Lockwood for letting me in on the secret.

This is the story of the restoration of Tally Ho, a 1910 Albert Strange Gaff Cutter being saved single handed by a young sailor called Leo.

He is inventive hardworking and broke, but seems unstoppable, subscribe to his YouTube channel and give him a hand.

Be warned it can get addictive.

Beale Park Boat Show 2017

A few images from this year's show.

Katie, Sails At Last.

I've finally got round to sailing Katie.
A weekend meeting at Barton Turf was the impetus to get cracking and build the rig.
Encouraged by Rob Blackburn's success with the roller reefing system borrowed from Matt Leyden's Paradox, I cobbled together one of my own from bits I had accumulated
in the garage and some fancy new PolyTarp, which I think looks rather fetching.

Photo John Lockwood

Photo John Lockwood