FULL CIRCLE

A lovely day's boating down the river Soar to Loughborough, setting off at 7am with sunshine sparkling on the water and willows waving against a clear blue sky. We passed the busy preparations for the IWA festival at Redhill in the shadow of the power station and then up the Soar - one of the most beautiful stretches of river I have ever seen - nearly as good as the Avon :-) Strange to be back in Loughborough which is where I started with Mikron two and a half years ago. The dent is still there on the bridge where I crashed into it during my first go on the tiller. I remember the first time we winded round in the entrance to the Grand Union and realised that Tyseley was not quite as manoeuvrable as more modern smaller boats. Now the BW Basin is fully operational with excellent shower, toilets, water, nice pontoon moorings and a good winding hole. Hoping that we can stay here for the rest of this week while we travel out by van to our various performances. The al fresco drinkers are still shouting over their cans of special brew and the little apple tree by the Nottingham Road Bridge is still there, this time covered in brightly coloured crab apples whereas when I first saw it, it was in full blossom. The beer in the 'Swan in the Rushes' is still great and the kebabs in 'Saleh' as good as ever.
Thanks to Liz and Colin Wicks for moving the van down from Shardlow for us and to Sophie at the Rose in Hose for stepping in at the last minute when the Black Horse closed down. Let's hope that the the Rose will become as successful a Mikron venue in future years as the Black Horse has been in the past.