Diversions

The passengers on this morning's bus to Worcester weren't at all fazed when the driver stopped at Astley Cross and announced that owing to a road closure they wouldn't be following the usual route and instead would be taken  "via the scenic route" , which is bus-speak for a diversion that would add several miles and a fair amount of time to their journeys. In fact, when he told us that we would be travelling via Dunley, Great Witley and Little Witley there were audible gasps of delight and sighs of "lovely!" as the passengers realised they would get an unexpected chance to enjoy a trip along roads they wouldn't normally get to see.


I've enjoyed a few diversions of my own here in Stourport whilst waiting for crew. David Morris, who runs a small bus company in Herefordshire and with whom I used to spar with in my days as Public Transport Manager for the Council, called in for lunch one day and three former colleagues from my days at Worcester council offices took me out for meal last night. As there are, apparently, no pubs that do food on a Monday night in Stourport we went over to Bewdley amd the Woodcolliers Arms, which has a Russian chef and hence offers a chance to try, amongst other things, Attabanya; which turned out to be a sort of spicy pork schnitzel.


I've also found time to assist a few other boaters down the locks into the river, picking up a few tips on how not to manage the tricky passage between the top and bottom staircases, which are fiendishly offset. Everyone I spoke to seemed to be heading for Droitwich, although Jan and Dai on - what else - "Jandai" had decided to turn around and go "the scenic route" via Stourbridge and Birmingham instead.


After sitting on the York Street five-day moorings since Saturday I moved down into the upper basin today to take on water. It looks at first glance as if there are no visitor moorings here but perusing the notice boards carefully uncovers the fact that visiting boats can moor overnight anywhere on the basin walls, so this is my view from the kitchen window tonight.

Stourport basin