A quiet and cool night in Willington and then the sun warmed the day as we ‘discovered’ another Frederick William Broad from Islington who cruised by in a similar vessel which we looked around in Bedford Boat Club. A look around Harry Kitchener Marine to no avail and then the cruise to moor at Bedford Riverside Park before an evening out in the town.
The IRA bomb attack on a service car in West Germany has been followed by a hunt for more bombs and the attackers and the Notting Hill Carnival was followed by the police being attacked by a bottle throwing crowd which marred an otherwise peaceful event
I slept well at our quiet spot in Willington after catching a few fish at the moorings. This morning, we extended our routine to include Deborah in the shower for the first time. A much cooler night but brighter this morning as the sun soon took over from the central heating that we had put on. Once breakfast was over with, another Discovery-type boat cruised past us upstream and so we quickly unmoored and join them. We caught up at the next lock and found the boat (called ‘Broads Cruiser’) was actually owned by a ‘Frederick William Broad’ who originated from Islington and now lived in Luton. Once we had locked through Castle Mills and Cardington locks, we accepted their invitation to a coffee at the Bedford Boat Club and had a look around their boat which was fitted out in the same design that George Smith is achieving on the 31-foot model.
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We cruised on to Harry Kitchener Marine and had a look around the chandlery and then lunch at the Berney Inn nearby. A number of boats in the yard were for sale but none of them were of a type that interested us. It turned out to be a nice sunny day for the rest of the cruise to Bedford and we moored up at the Bedford Riverside Park and took the dinghy and our speedboat our speed-boat up through the lock. We moored at the bridge and walk to the cinema to see the film, ‘The Land before Time’ as a family. We had tea at McDonald’s and then came back on to the boat for the evening.
The news, as I heard it tonight, had not changed much in the two days away: and IRA bomb attack on a service car in West Germany was followed by a hunt for more bombs and the attackers. This time the bomb was spotted, and the danger averted but it is the third attack in West Germany this summer. After the Notting Hill Carnival ended in London, the police were attacked by a bottle throwing crowd which marred an otherwise peaceful event. Riot squads, police horses and helicopters were used to quell the riot! In the final England versus Australia cricket test match, our team avoided the follow-on and there is speculation about Mike Gatting returning to replace Gower as captain.