Oakley leads the way

We set off early at 9.00am this morning as we heard the weather was going to be stormy later on, and headed for the marina for our pump out. We pulled in and got sorted on the service station, but it all seemed very quiet.
Al had walked up there on Saturday and found out they were open but failed to find out the fact that they didn't start till 10.00am on a Monday. Still time for a cup of tea and some breakfast. We ended up getting a gas bottle and we did feel our pump out was a good one so it was all worth the wait. From there is was out and onto the water point. Del had been wanting to wash the cratch cover with a new fluid he had got from A J Canopies a month ago, so used this water point as it had a nice area to do it.. When we had filled Del hosed off the canopy, so lets wait and see if it gets rid of all that green mould. We got the lock ready and as we went in another boat turned up.

It turned out to be a couple who had not long been on the cut and they were out on a trip to London. She was partially sighted and she had a guide dog called Oakley, and what a lovely dog.. she said "bollard" and he found a bollard and sat by it so his lead could be put over it, he never moved.

The lady suffered with like a pencil vision so could only see what was directly in front of her..

Oakley guided her round puddles on the towpath, he was her wider vision. When we parted she told him to make friends and he just changed into a normal dog wagging his tail and licking us to death.... We then moored at Berkhamsted and we could have got in anywhere here, unusual as it is normally so busy.

I'm sure it will get busy with the boats travelling to the cavalcade in London this weekend. We chilled in the sunshine until we got the rain they said we would get.. Great big drops of it, but it never stormed.