Saturday 19 April 2014

Celebrity start to the Easter Weekend

On Thursday evening, as a fitting start to the St Pancras CC Easter cruise, we went to ‘The Grapes’ in Limehouse for an evening with some of the locals.

20140417_195003

Cindy the barmaid was a ‘ten out of ten’ hoot. Everyone needs a Cindy somewhere in their lives!

20140417_223535

Sir Ian Mckellen heard we were there and popped into the pub for chat. (It just happens to be his pub!)

Friday dawned bright and a bit chilly but everyone was eager to get out on the Thames for the days trip up through the city to Brentford.

P1020833

Gary and Yve, who we met on the Ventura cruise a few weeks ago, came to join us for the day.

P1020836

With an hour to go before the ‘off’ there was time to open the Champagne and make a toast to a safe and enjoyable trip.

P1020839

At 1 o’ clock sharp we were flushed out of the lock at Limehouse and, with horns blaring (a requirement as you enter the main tideway), ‘Chance’ got its first taste of Thames water this year.

P1020841

Two Champagne powered people happily sighting Tower Bridge.

P1020843

We follow the lead boat ‘Doris Katia’ with Andrew and Frances on board as we head towards one of the worlds most iconic sights.

P1020844

Gary and James on the ‘blokey’ end of the boat while Yve and Doug get the drinks and nibbles ready inside.

P1020851

Safely through Tower Bridge and we pass probably the oldest building in the city – the Tower of London …………

P1020854

………. and then soon we pass two of the newest buildings – the ‘Walky Talky’ and the ‘Cheese Grater’.

P1020860

Two happy bunnies approaching the seat of government.

P1020864

All’s well on the Westminster waterfront.

P1020869

Nb ‘Doris Katia’, in the distance, leads us up towards Battersea.

P1020873

With Vauxhall in the background our additional crew for the day – Yve and Gary, thoroughly enjoyed the trip.  Gary took the tiller for the best part of an hour as we got into quieter waters.

P1020876

The delightful Albert Bridge – always a treat to look at both for its architecture and paintwork.

P1020880

After a fantastic trip up through the city again – a bit choppy in places but that only adds to the fun of it all, we got onto the Grand Union Canal at Brentford and made our way up to Hanwell and moored up for the night. It wasn’t long before we met up in The Fox to enjoy a drink or two with St Pancras Cruising Club Commodore Andrew and his wife Frances who, as always, are responsible for the safe organisation and planning of these terrific tideway cruises we so enjoy.  Frances, Doug, Eve, Gary and Andrew all wrapped up against a chilly evening.

3 comments:

  1. Caroline and Martin19 April 2014 at 16:53

    Great photos as always, I saw Chance in Paddington on Weds evening before getting the train back home, sadly I couldn't stop to say hello. Caroline

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Caroline, Thanks for the comment, you know you are always welcome be good to see you.Doug and James xx

      Delete
  2. I cannot believe they didn't raise Tower Bridge for you two--as a sign of respect. Clearly the Bridge Master had no idea who was cruising past! Great pics!
    JaqXX

    ReplyDelete