Accomodation for the girls aboard The Lady
Accomodation for the girls aboard The Lady

We cruised to Ely on a fine day after a cooler night, stopping there at Ely marina for suppliers and then morning at the quay opposite. Daniel and I looked around the Chandlers and the girls around the town. After meeting back at the boat, we cruised up to Cambridge on the river that was very quiet but clogged with the weed cuttings. Daniel and his friend Gary met in the city and went to the cinema is Di visited the launderette and I walked around the city. A madman threatened to spread rabies by inoculating and releasing animals if a ransom is not paid.

A rather late night and we were then tired this morning, but we still had to get up early for the cruise to Ely. The weather was quite fine again, but we needed the warm-air heating to heat the boat up after a cooler night. Once we arrived, we stopped at Ely Marina to fill up with water, petrol (for the small boats) and looked at the boats that they had for sale. None of them were of interest. At least I found the latest leaflets from International Paints, which were very good describing  the various processes and the products that they have for them.

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We went across to moor at the quay and then we spent a little time in Ely before meeting up at Bonnet’s for lunch (which is just the same as usual). Daniel and I spent our time looking around the Ely Yacht Chandlers and the girls looked around the town. Back to The Lady, where I topped up the engine with oil as the girls did their food shopping at the nearby Tesco’s. Then the cruise upstream to Cambridge. Daniel went ahead (ostensibly to set up the locks but he went past them to meet up with his friend Gary in the city). They had been weed cutting but without any booms, wires or means to restrain the weeds and so the River Cam was most foul at the moment due to that.

Our boat survives the weed quite well (only our speedometer gathered the weed and stopped) but the other boats had some considerable problems with their propellers. Whether for this reason or not, few boats had made their way to the upper reaches and we were alone overnight by the playground and swimming pool. Di would not come with me to the cinema tonight and so Daniel went with Gary, Di did the washing at the launderette and I took a walk around the shopping centre until dark. To sleep after seeing Daniel safety back from his night out.

The latest news is of a madman threatening to spread rabies by inoculating and releasing animals if the government does not pay him/her a ransom. The police have to treat the story seriously, but it is the latest bizarre variation of the anti-social threats to food and other products by adding, in that case, foreign objects.