Saturday 31 August 2013

A Bit of This ...... A Bit of That.....


Been spending time in the Oxford and Thrupp area  sorting things to come and generally having a great time . The weather is still warm and every day has been a tee shirt  day.

Wilst moored in Oxford we saw overhead.... making the most of the great weather.....




 

First this ballon...  followed by...





This one with the very familiar Virgin logo....


Then a few days later in Thrupp...




There  it was again...this time to Hot to be a Virgin...

It's a very nice  place to be moored is Thrupp, great  facilities  including two pubs real handy and......





Local and nation wide identity Maffi.  Here he's heading back to the boat after a days work...

Had a couple of nights at the Boat Inn with Maffi, a few beers and good company... Maffi  loves his  Guiness  and more so when they're the right measure.....






The lift bridge to cross to get to the old stables..
 

 


And  Annies  Tea Rooms always busy...

Also the canoe  and NB hire that Maffi  handles....


Maffi setting free some more hirers...  Had one Big fella capsized 3 times.... Had to use a ladder to extricate him from the water on one attempt...
 

Our Kiwi mate  Spencer   came and picked us up last Sunday and we spent the afternoon at  the village  where he lives.
Monday was a public holiday so the local pub had a barbecue lunch going, with entertainment for the kids, at  2 quid a meal was good value..




Down the local, they served cold beers too...



Up the road was this house belonging to...



Some dude who does sunken treasure diving and salvage ... apparently he's had a huge collect...

 

Spencer  likes motor cycles to..



This 500 TT Yamaha has never been ridden or started....  There's another one  there with low miles...




2004  soft tail Harley  Big Block....




And a Buell....

Had an  Ex, day with Spencer, Karen and Ryan....

Monday morn, its a holiday for workers remember and the Poms were out in force on the tow path,  NB Kotuku pulls  in to moor in front of us.
Keith and Bronny two Kiwis aboard  have been living the  good life for 6-7 years  and  when Keith  suggested a  barby  no one  could  find a reason  not too.

Spencer rang and said  he was bringing the  "Whanau" out for  a  check  of   FireflyNZ  so  the day was set...

 





Keith  makes  cooking to Michelin Star quality look easy as Spencer, Pam and  Karen offer no help...

 



 
Foods up on the tow path.....



Cut the breads and help help yourselfs...  Afte 7pm and still warm...




 


Suns gone but the pavlova and  strawberries and raspberries and blueberrys  have gotta be eaten...

Keith and Bronny  doing it Kiwi style....


Sometimes  different  sights  just pass by...  was it the beer??



No , a woman walking doing the Google mapping thing... 

Next day  Leonie and me headed across a local public track and checked out this old church...

 




Several graves of victims of a local train crash on  Xmas Eve, 1874, 34 dead....

Then over to the adjacent Manor house ruins...



You have to ignore the sign that says don't enter grounds to enter the grounds......





On the track  this bridge crosses the river  Cherwell....
The  church in Shipton on Cherwell in the back ground...
 

There's heaps of  Blackberries along the canals so it's easy picking especially if you steer the NB into the bush on the opposite side to the towpath...



The breakfast of a Champion... cereal, yogurt , sultanas, apricots, stewed  and raw  blackberries, grapes and milk and cream.... OOHHH I have the same...

Some of the Thrupp dogs...




 
 
 
 
 
And Maffi's  Molly...