We can't be sure, but we think that the summer holiday period began this week. Certainly there are enough "closed for the holidays" signs on shops and businesses to convince us that they are in full swing, and the weather just has a sort of a cheery summer holiday sort of feel to it.
Summer holidays brings more hazards for us though, there are swimmers and people diving in the canals, and families gathered by the locks as though to assess our boat handling skills. When we throw a rope over a bollard we dare not miss lest the assembled throng should think the lesser of us, no that we care what they think of course.
Mid afternoon, post lunchtime is when all this activity peaks, people seem to materialise from thin air, strolling, cycling, or simply sitting in the shade. It is Sunday afternoon behaviour but it is now happening every day.
We discovered a beautiful, quiet mooring this evening, a short distance from a village, just far enough away so that the church bell ringing could be heard without intruding on our serenity.
It was also just far enough away so the kids from the village couldn't hear their respective mothers calling out to them either, and they gathered on "our" landing in ever increasing numbers, thoughtfully sharing their music with us, diving, splashing and generally doing what young adults do, intruding where church bells dare not. We wondered for a time if we would be allowed to sleep when the time came, but mothers don't call out any longer, they send texts and just as quickly as the party had started it ended, leaving us once again to our enjoy tranquility, and our sleep.
No comments
Post a Comment