He's a very bright boy and I really like him.
Just sometimes I do turn my head and grin into my hand.
And other times I feel like turning him upside down and dunking him in a bucket of cold water.
Anyway - child cruelty aside...
We were SO lucky.
The Tessa was crewed by two wonderfully relaxed people. The lady steering was so good she got through locks with only one gate and never touched the sides. I know people in the boating community who could not do that and she did it twice in a row - effortlessly, gracefully - with many staring eyes.
As they came through the second lock they asked if the children
would like to walk through their boat! What? A bunch of 20-odd 5-7 year olds you have never even seen before? Wow, that's altruism. And the mark of people with absolutely nothing to hide!
So we did, and they did and the children behaved beautifully. And I am so grateful to them. I know boat-folk are supposed to be friendly, but this was so generous.
After that, hot-foot it back for our rendezvous with Charlie.
A short trip taking us into the Blisworth Tunnel which runs 1.3 miles. On a narrow boat it takes approx one hour, but of course we just dipped into it. It's a popular river boat trip, especially for wedding parties in the summer. You have a bar and a disco and go from a sunny afternoon into pitch black for a while
Boarding Charlie.