I am enjoying making slow progress in a southerly direction. It is good to not be in a hurry so when I have moved for an hour or so I find somewhere to moor and go for an exploration of the new area. I am amazed by the speed of change on the canals over the last two or three years. There are many more boats around and, of these, many are widebeams. I do wonder how this can progress from here. Luckily I am getting quite good at squeezing Olivia into the smallest space! While I was moored below Milton Keynes I went to visit Bletchley Park. I had been there before in about 2000/2001 when it had not really geared itself up for hoards of visitors. Now it can compete with many other museums and I spent 4 hours there. I still think there is room for improvement and I would love to see vignettes in the huts with sound effects of the machines and any hubbub. There are some great interactive displays where you can try to solve ciphers, etc.

In February Olivia was broken into and a few bits and pieces stolen: food, sleeping bags, a coat, a saucepan. Anyway nothing of much value was taken but the perpetrator weakened my entrance hatch. Today the vertical part feel off completely so I had to have a go at fixing it back on using super strength brackets. It works okay but is not perfect so I will need to get a professional on the job sometime.

I got the train down to Little Venice, IWA Cavalcade where Heather and Christine were moored for the weekend. Some good stalls there including vintage clothing and different crafts to the usual suspects. Particularly liked the rag knitting and the WRGs (Waterways recovery group) were selling some really tasty chocolate fudge (vanilla also available). Heather and Christine raised a smile when they entered an inflatable dinghy into the illuminated boat parade (sorry no photos as I hadn't charged camera). Anyway it is amazing what you can do with a few sets of pound shop lights. I must get some. On the Monday I accompanied Heather on her journey to Bull's Bridge. I have noticed that it is always cold or wet or both when I cruise with Heather. This does not augur well for our trip to the Medway!!

IWA Cavalcade

I was going to cruise up to Aylesbury basin but in the end the thought of 32 extra locks put me off so I decided to walk most of it instead. I walked the Wendover Arm as well. When I left Marsworth I shared with another boat heading to London to join the "shuffle". This boat was unusual as it was a really nice boat with a middle aged couple on it as opposed to the usual barely floating boats with youngsters on that generally make their way to the metropolis.

On Saturday I visited Waddesdon Manor - I am trying to get the most out of my Art Pass. It is a huge estate with a nice woodland playground for children, a rather special wine shop and the enormous house itself, which is decorated in French rococo style, so not my "thing". There is an aviary with a variety of unusual small birds.