Because of the forecast, we had planned a non-moving day. Macc and I started our early walk in the dry but got wet on the way back. We’re now in Cheshire, so we walked back to the Shropshire border which is about half a mile away! A single-hander moored a bit behind us was setting off, and then we found that another single-hander moored at the top was also starting down. This looked like a bad idea when a heavy shower came through while we had breakfast, but then a bit later it cleared up. We thought we’d make the most of the calm before the storm by walking into the village.
The Bridge Inn is all decorated for Halloween; the Lord Combermere appears to be closed at the moment, as there are signs up advertising for a new landlord. We went to the Co-op and the butcher where we got some nice sausage rolls for lunch, and then crossed the field to the steps by the Shroppie Fly, which has recently been repainted.
Back at the boat, Macc put himself to bed as he’d had two decent walks and was exhausted. Then the rain started, and right on cue just before lunchtime the winds arrived. There have been waves on the water and we’ve been properly battered about.
Adrian’s been doing loads more work for the charity, with numerous emails and phone calls. This afternoon I thought I’d tackle the pumpkin that Helen brought us earlier in the month.
I chopped off and prepared a chunk for Tom Kerridge’s pumpkin and bacon soup. It turned out to be far more than the recipe needed, so I just scaled everything up. It means we have soup for days, so some will be going in the freezer. Then I thought I’d better deal with the rest of it, so I de-seeded, peeled, and diced it — and I’ll roast a tray each time I do anything in the oven and then maybe make other things such as pumpkin chilli or lasagne. The prep is very tedious, and I’d almost lost the will to live by the end of it.
We are seeing Carol and George, ex Still Rockin’ this evening, so that will be nice. Hopefully tomorrow will be calm enough for us to move, but Sunday we’ve apparently got a second storm coming through.
0 miles, 0 locks. (331 miles, 206 locks)