Moored at Beale Park
No Miles No Locks.
Thursday. Drizzle this morning as we shuffled our boat with the one next to the River bank, we were allocated mooring position A, which is against the bank, it was raining when we arrived yesterday so we agreed to do the swap today.
No Direction lined up with the access boards.
During a break in the rain we put our bunting and flags up.
The festival site is off limits to us as the exhibitors set up, we are only allowed in during opening hours unless I can get my hands on an exhibitor pass, then I can have a good nose around before the crowds arrive.
Friday. Some of the floating exhibitions and boat clubs are situated on the Beale Park lake, the lake is accessed from the River Thames via a narrow cut across which, there is a floating swing bridge, so every time a boat arrives that needs to get into the Lake area the bridge needs to be opened so the organiser asked for volunteer's, I volunteered and was operating the bridge today between 10 & 11 o'clock, it takes 2 people to operate it, 1 to pull on the chain to open it and 1 to pull on another chain to close it, I have also volunteered for an hour on Sunday and again on Monday.
A Dutch Barge enters the lake with the Swing Bridge open
At around 5 this afternoon I heard the distinctive sound of a Narrowboat with a Bolinder Hot Bulb Engine these were one of the first Diesel engines available in the early 1900s, (the starting procedure requres a Blowlamp !!!.) I went down to the lake entrance to have a look, it was 2 Historic boats from Tamworth, Kangaroo, the one with the engine and Australia the Butty, without an engine.
The 2 Boats pass the open Swing Bridge, our mate Caz is standing on the back of the far one.
Tomorrow we will have a quick look around the show when it opens at 10 am, then we are both on the R.B.O.A.. stand at 12 for our 2 hour stint.
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