Don't be fooled - that's not Paddy on Paul's lap - they have 2 small Yorkies as well as 2 larger terriers (they aren't completely sane but very nice despite that).
We had a good look around the shops and got a few necessities (didn't include a new handbag, although I did look - quite hard).
After they'd left on Sunday early afternoon we decided against moving along to a different mooring in Newbury and I ended up going to bed for the rest of the day feeling poorly. Hadn't drunk the night before so it wasn't that, just not feeling too good. I'm fine now.
As we'd moored right at the western edge of Newbury we went through the town today - here we're coming up to the swing bridge before the Lock in the centre of town where everyone hangs out to watch to see if you're going wrong!
Coming through the lock we go past the pub where we lunched on Saturday, rather quieter now than it was then, we had to kill a couple to get a table in the sun looking out over the lock, it was OK though, no-one noticed in the crowd.
Here we are coming past the wharf on two wheels! Well if the boat had wheels we would have had 2 of them in the air! It was a bit steep.
We are now at Woolhampton, where you will remember we had an interesting incident on the way up. I have to say that the water is a lot quieter now than it was then, and it doesn't look too bad. However we were watching boats coming through today and one hire boat completely turned around and started heading for the bridge below the lock that had been lowered. Mick (who we'd been travelling with on Lizzie today) threw himself on the boat and managed to get it back under control and into the lock. We discovered that the people had only been on the boat for half an hour. All the experienced boaters who were present, agreed that hire companies are completely irresponsible not telling people more about the pitfalls and letting them out with a boat totally unprepared.
Woolhampton boasts a dinky little shop and minute post office, here they are. I've been having a real problem buying post cards for the last few days to send to Mum. All I could find here was a rather lovely card of the canal, rather more expensive than a postcard but I'm sure Mum will like it.
There are at least 3 pubs in the village and this has to be the most unusual looking one - it's almost Dutch in some ways but the chimney is unlike any usual ones we've seen. It's for sale if anyone fancies it.
Tomorrow we are hoping to get to Sheffield Lock which is halfway to Reading, so we'll be back on the Thames shortly.
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