Back at Abingdon

We arrived back at Abingdon just before 5 yesterday and after unpacking the car and the cases, having a cup of tea and a half hour kip we walked downriver to a very special boat ... no photos I forgot my camera!

Boating friends Ann and Kev had arrived earlier and we had planned to meet up with them that evening.  We walked to the Nags Head pub for an evening meal of fish and chips ... lovely!

Sunday (8th July) we need to move Still Rockin' off the lock weir mooring today and Kevin had been in touch to say that there was a space free below the lock ...

so at 7:30 am I pushed Still Rockin's bow out and walked over to set the lock ...

while George brought her out past the other moored boats ...

and out of the weir stream ...

winding (turning) ...

to face downstream ...

smoothly into Abingdon Lock ...

down and out of the lock where he pulled in just in front of this red narrowboat

Putting the pins in ... being close to the lock we know that the wash from big French Brothers trip boats which cruise this stretch of the River Thames a couple of times each day, will create quite a lot of turbulence and could displace the mooring pins.

 We're just a few boat lengths behind our previous and first narrowboat Rock 'n' Roll (click on the link for the 'handover' to Ann and Kevin back in 2014)

 Upstream is the lock on the right and the weir on the left, our mooring whilst we were in Hereford was at the rear of the weir behind the trees ... and downstream in view of RnR ...

 and on the bank-side over the sun scorched grass.

Still having the hire car until tomorrow (Monday) we took the opportunity to do a big Tesco shop taking Ann (RnR) with us.

6pm and the chairs and tables are out, the bbq is lit and everyone has a drink ... cheers!

 Managed to take this from approx 100 yard away ... I love my camera!

 A bit closer to was Jaz, Ann and Kev's happy boat dog.

We sat under the shade of the trees until it started to go dark and the bugs started to bite, catching up and doing a lot of laughing of course ... a great evening.  

Monday (9th) it was time to say cheerio to them but we shall surely meet up again when they come back upstream in a few weeks time.  

It was so good to see them both again and their lovely boat Rock 'n' Roll which still looks as immaculate today as it was on the day of the handover ... a lovely boat (sigh!).

The remainder of Monday once the hire car had been returned was also very r'n'r! (relax and recuperate)