Well, we finally arrived at Rose Narrowboats to load Amphora with all our belongings. Well I say "all" but most of our stuff is now in a garage in sunny Coventry (including my extensive shoe collection and dance dresses!). As we drew up we saw two police cars parked at the boatyard and a group of people milling around. A welcoming committee for us perhaps? No - apparently a young lad had nicked his parents narrowboat, the worse for a few too many pints of Boddingtons - was weaving his way down the cut at 4mph. As well as an impressive turnout of 6 coppers and a dog, the local helicopter was tracking his progress. We reckoned that it must've been a quiet day for crime in the area...

They refused to let us move our boat so we could unpack the van, so we just waited. It was rather like a slow motion car chase - like one of those reality TV programmes or the Sweeney - "Watch out George, 'e's got a windlass!". Apparently there was a policeman walking along the towpath next to the boat shouting at him to pull over! Anyway he finally came into view, but rather caught the coppers napping as they sat in their cars eating sandwiches. Suddenly there was a lot of action, shouting, running - but they wouldn't get on the boat as it came by ("Health and safety, madam,"). The teenager leaped off the boat at the narrows, ran along the towpath, up onto the roof of another boat and then jumped into the water, getting out on the other side of the canal. Of course the swing bridge was open so the police couldn't get across which slowed them down even more. Eventually they nabbed the lad and cuffed him - "You're nicked!" (Well I bet that's what they said, don't you?)

Eventually we moved the boat across to where the van was parked and started to unpack.....