Date - Tuesday 30 October 2007 Day - Start - 9.30 am End - 2 pm Tadpole Bridge We pulled stakes at 9.30 and headed up stream to wind at the Round House where the Thames and Seven Canal joins the Thames. As we approached St Johns lock a small cruiser came up behind us, as the offside gate was only half open I went into the lock and pulled to the offside to give the cruiser a straight run in, however she refused to come anywhere near until I had opened the second gate fully and then she only just managed it. The saying "To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail" is very true, she only had one short line attached to her boat and had to find a length of orange cord to attach to the rear. After the lock keeper had taken them round the two adjacent bollards the ends only just reached back to her and when the lock keeper could finally empty the lock she was standing in her boat arm stretch to hold the ends of her cord. I was going to let her go first but she showed no signs of doing anything while I was still there so after Diana opened the offside gate we chugged out and left her, she eventually came out and then moored to the lock landing stage. We thought that would be the last we would see of her. As we arrived at Buscot the lock keeper had the gates open for us and was asking if we had seen the small cruiser anywhere. We told him we last saw her mooring to the lock landing stage so he locked us down, with the information that the Keeper at Grafton Lock had gone to the dentist and we would have to work ourselves through. When we arrived we started filling with water and set the lock ready when round the corner came the same cruiser, she didn't enter the lock but moored between us and the lock. As I walked back to Harnser she said she wasn't going through, so we finished water and pushed out round her, leaving her once more tied up on the lock moorings. We continued down in very pleasant sunshine to Tadpole Bridge where we moored at about 2 pm. We intend to stay here overnight and eat in The Trout tonight. -- Brian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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