Sunday 15th Sept
Another prompt start, as we were all up by seven o'clock. I just had time for a quick cup of tea, then I set off into Husband's Bosworth for the early Mass. The others took the boat towards the Foxton flight. Although the Mass wasn't till 8.15, I only just got there in time. The Catholic Directory said that Mass was in 'the Hall' and I spent quite a while looking around the village, without success. There were some people gathering around what looked like the village hall. They were obviously preparing for some sort of activity of the local bike club, but when I asked them about the Mass, they were able to direct me. Mass turned out to be at the other end of the village, in a rather attractive little Catholic church in the style of a typical Anglican country church.
It looked like quite a thriving little congregation, and to judge by the parish newsletter (the parish is based in the neighbouring town of Market Harborough) there seems to be a lot going on. I was quite impressed that they had singing even at this early Mass. They were assisted by the organist from the local Anglican church, in the temporary absence of the regular one. There was a pastoral letter from the bishop (Nottingham diocese). He's been in post for about two years, it seems, and he's planning a diocesan assembly in order to consult the people about the direction the diocese should be taking in various aspects of its activity. The previous bishop had been rather elderly and infirm for a good many years past, so this would seem to be a good time to take stock and get some sort of sense of direction for the diocese. The letter itself was rather impressive — very clear and well argued, making a good case for something which many people would not at first see the need for.
With Mass finishing at about a quarter past nine, I set off in the direction of Market Harborough — as near as I could judge the nearest road to get me to Foxton. It would take the others a while to get through the locks, so they might not have to wait all that long for me. I phoned Alan and he said they'd stop at the bottom of the flight, to take on water and to have a look around the canal museum. It turned out to be rather a long walk, though I think it was at least reasonably direct. It would probably have been slightly quicker to have gone back to the canal and walked along the towpath, but I wasn't sure whether it would be walkable all the way to Foxton. Any impassible section (like one we noticed yesterday) would mean that I'd be really stuck. About three miles along the Market Harborough road, I found a footpath to Foxton. It wasn't very well marked — in fact, all there was to go on, apart from the initial signpost, was a couple of stiles along the way. I eventually arrived at the canal about a mile or so short of Foxton, and got there about a quarter to eleven. Time to take a few quick photos and to view the site of the old Foxton Inclined Plane (which Nick says they're intending to restore). We set off again about eleven o'clock.
We arrived at the Saddington Tunnel at 12.15 and were out of it ten minutes later. I noticed a boat behind us in the tunnel and they caught us up a the Kibworth locks. We went through these together and through all the subsequent locks till they stopped to water at Kilby Bridge. It was a small narrowboat owned by an elderly married couple, who said they've been going on the canals regularly for the past 35 years. In addition to the boat (called The Phoenix) they also own a rather fine parrot. I didn't notice that he ever said 'Pieces of Eight' (like the one in Swallows and Amazons) but he did manage 'Hello'.
Apart from our encounter with the Phoenix, there isn't anything much to say about the afternoon. We hadn't stopped for lunch, because there wasn't anywhere much to stop. We had bread and cheese (with various accompaniments) instead, and kept going. I didn't note it at the time, but I think it was today that Penny did rather a good apple and blackberry crumble, having picked up the blackberries along the way.
The weather has been rather overcast most of the time, with an occasional glimpse of the sun. Still, it's been reasonably warm — without the cold wind of yesterday. We stopped rather earlier than usual, at a quarter past five. Although the prospects for food and drink weren't that great, they looked even less promising unless we went right into Leicester, which there wasn't really time for this evening. The only other thing I noticed was completely trivial: a bridge along the way that was labelled 'Knight's Bridge'. It just made me wonder how long it was since there was, if ever, a knight's bridge in Knightsbridge (in London).
Alan had been keeping in regular touch with John and Sally Ann Sephton, phoning them and letting them know how far we'd got, and we arranged to meet at the pub this evening. This was the Glen Parva Manor, the original manor house having come down to being a sort of a Beefeater-type place. It would have looked quite impressive, but for the 'Book now for Christmas' banner draped across the front.
Opinion was divided amongst the group, whether it was better or worse than the Globe Hotel we went to on Friday. Our table hadn't been cleared when we arrived, and the previous occupants had poured salt onto one of the plates, spelling out the word 'crap'. It wasn't clear whether this referred to the cuisine or had a more personal or private connotation. I have to say that I was quite happy with my haddock and chips.
John and Sally Ann arrived about half an hour after we'd finished eating. Their eldest child, Matthew, is applying to university this year, and he's just had an interview at Coventry. He's hoping to do engineering and Coventry has a good scheme for doing work experience placements during the course. He's also applied to Oxford, Warwick and Newcastle. Their other child, Kate, is three years younger, so she won't be having to make these decisions for a while yet. Their whole family are keen oarsmen. Sally Ann had to give it up recently due to a knee injury, but she and John are both qualified umpires.
The other thing they do (except John) is to play in a brass band. The children both took it up at school and Sally Ann decided that as she was having to drive them to and from practices and concerts, she might as well get involved herself. Some of the people in the band they play for took part in the film Brassed Off (an excellent film, by the way). We were much amused by some of Sally Ann's stories of brass band competitions, especially the display given by some group from the Dutch army. They were billed as a 'mounted' band, but instead of being on horseback they were riding bicycles! It must have been quite a spectacle to see them riding along, steering the bikes using their elbows (apparently) and playing their instruments. An extraordinary feat, if somewhat pointless.
Back to the boat fairly early, not long after nine o'clock. We had coffee, whisky or port, depending on taste and inclination, then off to bed. I was able to get quite a bit of the journal written just before we moored for the evening, so that saved a bit of time before going to bed.