On drawing the curtains this morning we saw a cluster of ducklings, huddled and soft and sleepy. Their mother stood on one solitary leg, so still; like an artiste on La Rambla, awaiting the Barcelona tourist trade. One of the little brood stirred, stretching out a surprisingly long leg which broke the soft circle of the sleeping siblings. This was the queue for everyone to begin puffing and preening and preparing for the day. Petite clouds of fluff were flicked from their bodies and an opportunist sparrow alighted from the low bow overhanging the brood to collect one of their gifted feathers. The ‘lings took no offence at this recycling and off darted the sparrow.
I turned on the stereo (a loose terminology as it’s really a car radio, not a B&O) and was immediately cast back to 1980 as Banbury Radio brightened up the drizzly morning. Our tolerance didn’t last long due to intermittent reception as is frequently the case on the boat. Songs would abruptly stop for a few seconds and then restart. This soon becomes irritating I’m sure you’ll appreciate.
We left Cropredy after a twenty four hour stay and a refreshing Hook Norton with the visiting Sarah and Rory at The Red Lion – another top establishment welcoming dogs. For a Monday night it was very busy. By the sound of the church bells, it seems that Cropredy folk either practice campanology on a Monday evening or frequent the Red Lion. Rory obviously found it difficult to hear my story of meeting Danish people at Fenny Compton through all the mellow chatterings, mishearing ‘Danish’ for ‘dangerous’ and becoming very alarmed.
This fabulous pub has a room devoted to a music shop. Rory felt compelled to pick up a guitar but was then awash with hesitation, having forgotten he can’t play. This hasn’t affected the overall rock status of the photo as you can see.
A strange but true fact about the Red Lion is that it is also (currently) the Post Office. But only on selected days of the week. It used to be in the gift shop. It has also resided in the Spar shop. The thrill of the chase! The Spar shop has retained a set of weighing scales and one of those newfangled plastic letter gaugers and a variety of stamps and has very helpful staff who will figure out all your postage needs if they can. And so my Shed Bunting was sent from Cropredy Spar shop to Father’s shed in Hampshire well in time for Father’s Day.
We should have timed our visit here to coincide with Fairport’s Cropredy Convention but sometimes one can’t organise one’s Filofax to encompass everything on offer. We’ll schedule for next year instead. We hope Alice won’t mind our skipping out of his set.
Did you know, they’re building a marina at Cropredy, only it’s not ready (how amusing that should rhyme). You may have read about the setbacks due to the weather. Here’s a picture of two JCBs where narrowboats will soon be. A cool mooring for next year’s Fairport Cropredy Convention methinks.
Next – Banbury, a very handy canal Town!
Thanks to Donna, Mark (and Inky) for writing, and permission to publish, this.
