A few days in Aylesbury

Thu 25th Aug  Lemonroyd Marina to Aylesbury by car

We started off by driving to a Toby Carvery we had seen earlier, and having one of their “eat as much as you can” breakfasts. It may not be cordon bleu but it gets full marks for value.

Then to the M1 for our journey south.  Our hire car did not have cruise control, so it was difficult to maintain a constant speed. At least that’s what James will say to the magistrate’s court if he gets a summons.

We had a 3pm appointment to view the apartment and Denise from the letting agency was also there. We were shown all the electronic gizmos, but until we have the manuals and try to do it ourselves we won’t learn much. We were hoping the carpet man was also going to be there to measure up, but he didn’t appear.

Our apartment

We then went to find our post at Aylesbury Canal Society, before going to see Eric and Norma, who live in one of the apartments in the other half of our block, overlooking the canal basin.

The Canal Basin from Eric and Norma’s apartment

In the evening we went to Jack and Sandra’s for a final meal with the Life Group. This was a special time, as the life groups are changing in the autumn.

Life Group meal

Eric

No boating today. Lots of driving.

Fri 26th Aug  (Lemonroyd Marina) Aylesbury

We went to see the carpet and flooring man. He had not received Hazel’s email as it had gone into the spam folder. He agreed to measure up next Thursday, after the final floor layer had been laid. He can only do this on Thursdays when his shop is closed.

We then drove to Milton Keynes where there are three useful stores in the same area: Range, Dunelm, and Homebase. We came away armed with curtain poles, towel rails etc.

We had phone calls to say we had completed on the property, and we collected the keys from the Kier office.

We had a lovely meal with Eric and Norma, and then went to the ACS clubhouse to meet the other boaters in the bar. They had heard we were coming and laid on the cider for us. It was good to see them all again.

Aylesbury sunset

 Boaters gathering

No boating today

Sat 27th Aug  (Lemonroyd Marina) Aylesbury

We had a busy morning in the apartment, labelling all the items we had bought and putting post-it notes where they should be fitted.

We had lunch with Jack and Sandra at a garden centre, where we bought a plant for the boat.  Afterwards we showed them round the flat.

We had more keys cut at Timpson’s, and went to see Denise to finalise things about the letting.

In the evening we took Eric and Norma for a meal at the Bell in Aston Clinton, which was excellent.

No boating today. No photos either.

Sun 28th Aug  (Lemonroyd Marina) Aylesbury

We went to the combined church service in the park, where we met a few of the people from Broughton Church, including Phil.  There was a little rain, so brollies were up at one point, but generally it was better than forecast.

Church in the park

Praying for the younger generation

We went to McDonalds for a chicken wrap and a cold drink. We had an icy-cold frappe thing which made the brains hurt because it was so cold.  Hazel had her crooked glasses straightened out in Specsavers, and we went to B&Q for refunds on some items, and we bought a set of six hooks for the cupboard in the hall.

At 4pm we had been invited for pizza by Phil and Anne.  What we hadn’t realised was we had to make our own pizzas, which were then cooked for us in Phil’s brick oven in the garden.  All good fun.

Pizza topping ingredients

Pizza demonstration by Phil

Someone’s over enthusiastic effort

Back at Eric and Norma’s we prepared a detailed job list for John, the handyman who works for Denise, and we measured the windows for the blinds we need to order.

No boating today

Mon  29th Aug  Aylesbury back to Lemonroyd Marina by car

We made a snagging list for the builders – nothing too serious.  We tried to return a key that didn’t work to Timpson’s but they couldn’t/wouldn’t  give us a refund.

We then set off via the M40 to visit the IWA boat festival at Pelsall, where we had an Indian lunch from a stall and a decent cider from the beer tent. This beats a motorway service station by a long way.

We also saw a lot of people we know: Eric and Sue Naylor, Rod and Val Wardlaw, David Venn, Barbara (Braunston Pickle), Chucklefoot, plus BCF members: Jan and John, Tony and Pat, Margaret (we missed Rex), Lorraine and Mike. We were sorry to miss David and Mary who had had some trouble turning Kew around and had gone on to a junction to turn.

Val Rod and Hazel

Chucklefoot

 Mike and Lorraine

We had a quick look round the stalls before getting back in the car and heading north again.

When we arrived at the Marina we decided to see where the road ran out, and we found a bird hide, and some enthusiasts with telescopes and tripods. They had spotted an osprey and we were fortunate to time our visit so that we saw it as well.

Back on the boat, we found Hugo under our duvet, despite the heat. He was very pleased to see us. We don’t think he found his way off the pontoon at any stage.

Hugo at Lemonroyd Marina

No boating today, but quite a bit of driving.

Next: the journey continues to Thorne, with a revised itinerary