I know its a bit late to talk of calenders but every year we hold-off buying a calender for Albert just in case somebody buys one for us. Of course you need a vertical surface to hang a calender on a boat, which severely restricts the range of locations available, and of course it has to be "boaty" which usually means we go for the IWA Calender. Its "long and thin" format also fits in well with our chosen spot in the galley and it has just enough room for Maggie record our overnight moorings.
The 2009 Calender has as usual some great photos but I was taken by how many were by Granny Buttons. The March picture first caught my eye. It was of a mill on the Macclesfield, which is a canal we are going to explore this year, and unusually it was a night picture. Then I looked down, read the picture credit and the penny dropped. One of Andrew's night images! Andrew has another night picture on the Macclesfield and also a very poignant picture of the derelict locks at Runcorn.
It is also good to see one of our favourite riverside pubs featured, the Anchor at Pyrford on the Wey Navigations. We visited this pub twice on our trip along the River Wey this summer, and with our daughter Emily living nearby, we have had meals there on two further occasions this year. We have always enjoyed the food there and the beer is good. I am pleased to see that it gets a mention in Mike Lucas's Waterside Pubs book, which is a great reference for boaters.
