After a suprisingly restful night we made a slightly later start at 12pm from
Shiplake Lock with the boat grounded resulting in Gary and David going waist high
in the river to push the boat out of the sand. The day started with an extra crew
member as my lovely girlfriend Rosie showed good rhythm in the bow seat to help us
pull 100 metres on towards Sonning before heading home.
A friendly Lock Keeper held the gates as we upped the stroke rate as we approached
Sonning Lock. With Gary out of action today due to his wrist, the dream team combo
of Dave and Me (George and Jerome) were back in full swing and made good progress
pushing onto the Kings Meadow Tesco, convieniently situated by the river side in
Reading. We stopped here to purchase supplies and also get a late lunch. As Dave
and myself retuned with the goods Gary (Harris) had made a fantastic cuppa to go
with our newly purchased sandwiches. Energised by the brew 3 men in a boat stormed
through Caversham Lock and out of Reading where our game finished, this being a
sweepstake as to who could guess how many trolleys would be dumped in the river
during this urban stretch of the Thames. We won't give the exact answer but needless
to say Dave won! Whilst exiting Reading Gary got mistaken for a retired coxing Sir
Steve Redgrave, needless to say the bloke who heckled this was in a pub at the time!!
Further swift progress to Tilehurst in calm waters, low winds, and afternoon sunshine
saw perfect rowing conditions in time for another cracking afternoon tea this time
accompanied by coffee and walnut cake! The last push of the day saw us pass two
reputed country estates that inspired the great Toad Hall from Kenneth Graham's
beloved Wind in the Willows! While Mapledurham House was the more grand, we prefered
the homely feel and loation of Hardwick House and the lack of barbed wire which
got the better of myself at the previous as I attemped to capture photo's of the two.
For the first time in 14 years the 3 of us enjoyed the top 40 Radio Chart Show
Countdown and were dissapointed to find me no speak americano was pipped to number
1 by BOB. Just before our evening mooring we passed another skiff and a lady who's
knowledge of 'the book' was impressive, asked if we had some pinnaple chunks,
thankfully we did! This took us up to the National Trust piece of land called
Pangbourne Meadow and our mooring for the night. We set up camp for the night and-
Dave on skiff and insect duty, Gary as our resident chef, and me managing to put up
my tent in record time (unassisted without Kat). After a delicious meal we partook
in a civilsed but competitive game of french boules on slightly uneven ground, it
was an exciting and intense affair with me eventually emerging victorious with a
5-4-3 win. We rounded off probably the most enjoyable day so far with a couple of
rounds in our favourite riverside watering hole so far (The Greyhound in Whitchurch)
particuarly enjoying Kopperberg Pear Cide and Crabbies Ginger Beer before retiring
for the night!
Until Tomorrow
Keith
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