Mad dogs and Englishmen . . . .

Norm in Augusta has written to say he prefers a blog with pictures. This then is for him and anyone else who is interested.


Here's a nice one to start with which may give you some idea that summer is here. I say this because we are by a canal with a pub in the background.

It is a time when Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun in search of exhausting things to do when if they were not mad they would just sit in the garden with a beer.

Could you find anything better designed to give you a thirst than the canal Foxton in Leicestershire where if you want to go leisurely by narrowboat from Leicester to Norton, near to where we live, you have to spend an hour of hard labour negotiating your way through the ten locks to get yourself up 75 feet.

There is a seat containing good advice at the top.







It's not that simple either: you have to reserve a spot and wait your turn because boats cannot go up and down at the same time. Believe it or not, today we met some of your fellow countrymen from Arizona and Syracuse who had come on holiday just to do this. Not all the madmen are English!


Being an engineer Norm, you will probably be interested in the picture of the Foxton Inclined Plane which took boats up and down between 1900 and 1911. It's not there now, other than the site, but as with other things mad Englishmen do, there is a Trust holding activities like annual fetes to raise money to restore it!  Lots of information on the web, but it's probably easier for you to click on the following link
http://www.virtualwaterways.co.uk/feature.php?nid=15

At one time narrowboats were pulled by horses: surprising what you can find by an English hedgerow.

The countryside hereabouts, in my opinion, is as good as you can get in England. There was a slight mist this morning, but you may be able to find one man and his dog here.
You may need to click on the picture, as normal.


My final picture could be entitled:
"Canal with ducks with lady hanging onto a narrowboat with a view of may blossom under a bridge being ridden over by a man on a bike".
It was taken from the best of viewpoints; the garden of the Foxton Locks Inn.