Tixal Wide, Staffs and Worcester Canal

 As usual, we left too early to arrive at Midland Chandlers after it opened, but we did arrive at the lock just as a lovely working boat was coming out of the lock, so we had at least one lock for us.

Around Stafford we came across a boat which had managed to get itself stuck in the rushes on the towpath side of the canal.  He refused our offer to tow him off, so we left him with his pole trying to free himself.

At the next lock we were caught up by a boat with four men on board, two of whom insisted on helping us with the locks, and did so for the rest of the day.  Thanks for the help.

And so to Tixal wide.  Lovely as usual.  We stopped and moored just before the wide itself as it was busy.

I set off to walk to the farm shop at the junction and saw that a fellow moorer in Gas Street, Kathy, was moored up just past the junction.  So I went to visit her and then she came back to our boat, so I never got to the shop.

Here is a box/card thingy.  It is a large card with a box containing, in this case, 4 tealight candles.

I made several of them for the floating market in Birmingham, but the weather was to damp to put them out, so I never sold any.

This is a view of the inside of the card showing the candle box.

An alternative to candles could be chocolates or even small toys.