June 10th – I slipped out of work for the day near lunchtime, and pottered through the Black Country down the canals into Brum, then back home on the waterways to Aldridge. Unlike Brownhills, I had a mostly dry, temperate afternoon, and life is everywhere, from the lounging cat to the aggressive geese. Flowers and greenery are everywhere, and as ever, the landscape was the star.

It wasn’t a long ride at 35 miles, but the stop at a favourite Jamaican cafe for curried mutton, rice and peas and a good mooch around the architecture was good for my soul.

A lovely afternoon.