Button's New Berth

Robber Button's cunning plan

January 2009

There I was, minding my own business, doing some jobs on Wand'ring Bark when my mobile started to jangle away in my pocket.

It was none other than Mr W, my uber reliable rescue crew, calling me and telling me to turn round. A strange request, as the only thing behind me was the canal . But hey, I would trust the guy with my life so I did as I was asked.

nb Robber Button approaches Lock No1, Hatherton Branch Canal

Lo and behold I spied two eskimo's aboard a long blue narrowboat, heavily lagged against the frost, waving their arms in a most frenetic manner. A second glance revealed that the larger eskimo had a phone to his ear and his waving seemed to be in time to the laughter coming from my mobile.

The Robber Button's temporary home

It was none other than nb The Robber Button, a narrowboat owned by our friends from church coming to it's new mooring at Calf Heath. I knew that a move from Great Haywood was in the offing, but I had no idea that it had progressed from the cunning plan stage, a plan so cunning it could only have come from the university of cunning! What a fantastic surprise!

Lock No2, Hatherton Branch Canal

For the time being RB has been berthed in the upper basin, just next to Mrs Miggins pie shoppe, pending a space coming available in the main marina. This may be a slight inconvenience to Mr and Mrs B (yes in this instance there is a Mrs B), but a visit to their craft afforded a particularly fine view of lock number two of the Hatherton Branch canal,  complete with it's recycled bottom gates which are at least three feet too tall for the fall. It also lets us take a peek at the dry dock next to the old chamber, currently occupied by a narrowboat having its bottom black(adder)ed.

Robber Button, welcome. It's really great to have you as part of the boating community at Calf Heath.

Captain (Darling)