As per my last blog you can see that the mooring pontoon at Fintele, and the steep steps up from it, are the thin open mesh squares which are loathed by dogs and cats alike. So using two mooring planks we rigged up our own boarding system which avoided using the steps altogether – the use of which is demonstrated here by Daisy

“Now watch carefully Muttley, ’cause we’ve got to do that next”. “I can’t do that”. “Yes you can”.

And they did bless them

The Lockie turned up in the evening to inform us that we had to move on in the morning as they had received notification that, with immediate effect, there was a new 24 hour mooring rule – this was as much a surprise to the Lockie as the two local harboumasters  moored behind us. So, ready to leave yesterday morning, the Lockie had his first excuse for non-movers ..no, not the old broken down excuse, but ‘my cat hasn’t come home’. Daisy frightened me to death by not coming to my call or home for breakfast. Two hours later she joined me when I was out with the dogs – she was soaking wet and covered in mud but looking very pleased with herself.

So we cruised from Fintele (first three photos) to just outside Ieper (Ypres) after hanging a right onto the IJer/Ieper Canal. I love these little picnic sites/info areas. Is this a fancy pigeon house do you reckon?  It was just perched on the top of a house in a nearby village which I can neither remember the name of nor spell.

S

This house had it’s own cable ferry. Right turn Clyde!

Wild mooring here, so far, involves a bit of a bank. so a quick bit of gardening with the scythe, a rope pinned to the top by a long mooring pin, the small stool and the job’s a good ‘un.

I should also have mentioned that we still managed our traditional Sunday roast on MR and a BBQ on Avalon – Brits abroad hey? It’ll be knotted hankies all round next. Ah – that might have already happened!

Cheers guys!