Rachel, Steve, Penny & Phil arrived at about 10:30. We showed Penny & Phil around, they hadn’t been on a narrowboat before, and seemed to be impressed. It was a lovely, clear, warm sunny day and we set off northwards with the three men at the back and the three women at the front. There was quite a long delay before we could get going as the bridge keeper was having problems with the bridge. We cruised on to a spot just past Saul Junction where we knew the towpath was wide enough to accomodate us all for picnic lunch. After lunch, washed down with Bucks Fizz and cider (not together!), we chugged back with this time the women at the back & the men at the front. They left about 3 o’clock and we went back up to Splatt bridge and moored up in exactly the same place as before, even putting the pins back in the same holes!

We thought that Jan, Mike, Teresa & Lindsay would all be coming together in one car, but we got a text msg implying that J&M would be coming first with T&L following on later. But no, they all came together in two cars!

We had been planning the barbecue for quite a while and had settled on a pork only menu. Which is odd as normally Heddi doesn’t like pork! We had spare ribs in a spicy chilli sauce to start with, then tenderloin of pork with a lemon, prosciutto and sage coating together with freshly baked bread and salad. As on Sunday the new barbecue worked brilliantly.

The weather stayed warm, which was good as there isn’t really room for six to eat indoors, so we sat out until about 10:00.