Thursday 9th May 2019



Again, a day of almost continuous rain although it did clear up late afternoon. I did a few jobs that have been waiting. A shelf above the water pump for storing the spare and strip led lighting in the rear cockpit which brightens it up no end.

Brenda finished polishing and waxing the sewing box and it looks really good.

A big river cruiser came upriver this morning, “Edward Elgar” part of the English River Cruises fleet out of Gloucester.

In the afternoon a hire boat came down river and attempted to moor up while facing downstream and making a right hash of it, the flow has become really fast with all the rain. There was a fibreglass cruiser moored ahead of us. Nobody had been near this and the hire boat almost crushed it, so myself and a guy off another boat moved the cruiser to the inside of the pontoon, for its own safety and to allow other boats to moor, it was some job against the current. Then the occupants of the hire boat went up into Upton, returned within 20 minutes, and promptly left. In the evening three burly guys visited and moved this cruiser back, right into the middle of the pontoon. While I was hiding in the bedroom.




Mooring at Upton-upon-Severn



We walked into the town in the late afternoon and had a pint in the Swan. Another old pub with lots of exposed beams, all with the names of boats chalked on them. Apparently, there are so many pubs in Upton as it was one of the few river crossing places and so had a lot of accommodation and watering holes for travellers. Also for the boaters and the men who hauled the boats upstream. Boats on the Severn used to be powered by sail but, when there was no wind, they were hauled by gangs of men, said to be a barbaric practice.

We had “Penguin Pie” for dinner. We had seen this for sale in a farm shop at Wooton Wawen for £9.95 each and Brenda had decided to replicate it. Potatoe, onion, smoked haddock and cheese sauce in a short crust pastry. It was so tasty.



Weather: rain, heavy at times, most of the day although it cleared up late afternoon.














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