We left a nice clean shiny Jannock at Stourport last weekend and in the week it rained. We arrived to find a really dirty Jannock. It's not 100% water ,that rain, it's 30% mud I reckon. A beautiful day with the addition of a cooling wind. The canal and it's countryside corridor is very pretty hereabouts and we've awarded Kidderminster the most aesthetically improved town since 1999. OK, the improvements are basically retail parks and housing estates but they look better than the decaying industry that bordered the cut when we last passed through. However we still mourn the demise of manufacturing industry in the UK, those that spawned and were serviced by the canals we love. Some of the old canalside buildings have been re-styled very well. Kidderminster lock took the art prize. There are superb murals depicting a young male face of the 20s, 40s, 60s, 80s, 2000 and 2000+ all along the wall under the long bridge before the lock. Watch out Banksy! I have dug out a photo taken when we did this route in Lacewing during 1999, the last year we hired before buying Jannock and have put it on the blog with one taken on Sunday in the same location. We continued North passing through some quite deep locks (I didn't remember them being that deep) and moored on a 14 day mooring so that I could go and fetch the car from Stourport. On my return Brenda had prepared dinner and so we ate, washed up, closed up and set off homewards. A crying shame as the weather is so nice at the moment. Graham http://jannock.blogspot.com
