Nowhere Fast

Princess Lucy is now ready for her summer holiday. She has been fettled and serviced and hugged. Her stern gland has been repacked and greased (with a sponge and a rusty spanner). Chairs and a folding barbecue have been stowed. And tomorrow she will have a little wash.

Now last summer's trip taught us one lesson: and that was that you do not want to be lugging heavy shopping (wine, beer, water, milk) any distance at all. We fell foul of this on the Caldon Canal where there are few villages, and what shops we found were unremarkable and distant.

So given that the robust folding shopping trolley is yet to be invented, we are left with just a few other options (all of which will be employed). They are:

(a) Supermarket grocery deliveries. I have already identified one likely spot and set up a delivery address on our Ocado account. I am a bit nervous about this in case we don't get to where we need to be to meet the van, but we will see.

(b) Supermarkets bordering the canal. On this trip we have the relatively new Waitrose at Chester, Tesco at Whaley Bridge and the reasonably close Tesco at Kidsgrove.

(c) Now this option is one where I have excelled, and that is finding every hidey-hole on the boat that there is, and in it you stash said water, beer, wine and (longlife) milk. We now have 40 bottles of wine and similar numbers of bottled water and milk (most of the beer that will be drunk is in the pub.)

This year's trip is to be from Furness Vale to Chester - and back, and following recent experiences and the associated learning curve, we are aiming for little more than 3 hours cruising per day.

Given that this is our holiday (and we need a lie in each day,) given that we have a dog to walk (and he likes a lie in too,) given that we are inherently lazy (maybe afternoon naps most days?) and given that we have friends and family visiting (that might mean cleaning a bit,) then 3 hours a day is pushing it really.

So we set off on Friday, although this is to be via Bugsworth Basin and two nights of parties.

I can feel the pressure!

P.S.  I realise there could be robbers reading this who may want to steal our wine cellar. Be warned the dog never rests!

[Blog title courtesy of The Smiths.]

["with a sponge and a rusty spanner" courtesy of The Smiths, from the track: The Queen is Dead.]