Friday, January 27, 2006

I'm off on a boating adventure this evening, woohoo! I've been planning what to take and wear, and I'm just about sorted already.
Since I got the invite, I've been thinking back to boating holidays I used to go on with my parents when I was younger, and last night, a long lost memory came back.
I used to have a dog called Sheba. She was a borderline collie; smart as a button, very intelligent, and so faithful to me that she'd follow me everywhere she possibly could. One morning, I had to run to the station to catch the train to school, boarded the train, closed the door and sat down to find her grinning at me in the seat next to me, which meant I had to take her back home again, and was so late for school it was hardly worth going in at all. Good dog!
Anyway, I digress. Back to the boating holiday story.
My parents had hired a narrow boat for a trip on the Shropshire Union Canal. We took Sheba and our other old faithful friend Chips, and both dogs took to life on the canal like, well, dogs to water really. They looked on the adventure as one long walkie, punctuated by trips to pubs for meals and visits to interesting canal-side shops. One of the things the dogs loved most about the holiday, was that they could jump off the boat when we got to a bridge if they wanted, and just follow the boat which was chugging along at walking pace until they got to the next bridge where they could jump back on. Chips was fine with going walkies on his own, but Sheba would sometime worry if no-one went with her, and would then jump in the canal to swim back to the boat, which meant having to haul a very wet dog on board. Great fun.
One day, the boat decided to try and get stuck. The current had somehow pulled it towards a small weir, and the boat was well and truly wodged. This meant that someone had to walk along the side of the boat armed with the boat hook, and push as hard as they could while somebody else steered it in reverse to get free again. Guess who got the job of pushing the boat free? Yep. Me. I walked along the narrow ledge on the side of the boat, got the pole and pushed the boat free. I then turned to retrace my steps only to find that Sheba had decided to follow me to make sure I was alright. That was when things got tricky. A human, having only two legs, can easily turn on a narrow ledge, and can also hold onto the boat to make sure they don't fall off whilst doing so. Dogs on the other hand paw, are not as adept at maneuvers such as that, having two more legs to cope with. Sheba suddenly realised that turning round to go back was not an option and did what she thought was the most sensible thing possible, and jumped up at me. I, obviously caring a great deal about my furry friend and not wanting to see her hurt, let go of the boat to catch her. As if in slow motion, I caught her. We stared into each others eyes, as we lost balance, and ever so gracefully fell right into the muddiest part of the whole of the canal.
Not so good dog. But I still miss her.


Extra, 17:28 hours. I'm off to the seaside now, hurrah! Play nice while I'm gone, and don't forget about the Mugshots Competition!
Back tomorrow, maybe.
ttfn,
X