Leaving Aylesbury

I've left Aylesbury basin after 2 weeks of having town and station right on my doorstep. No problems apart from mysteriously finding a large stone in my fireplace that I can only think can have come down the chimney!
It was only when I left the basin yesterday that I had my first encounter with bridge-kids. I saw two teenies, one of which lowered himself down onto the parapet as though to jump on my boat roof as I approached. So I stopped the boat and hovered, thinking they'd just get bored, counting on them having the well-publicised short attention span an' all. They stuck it out for 5 minutes (I'll give them that), before nipping into someone's back garden to collect stones. I was furious and if I could have got into the side and tied up, I'd have gone hareing up the towpath to give em an ear-bashing. I mostly feared for my solar panels! Luckily, for us all, they chucked their stones (very badly, rubbish aim, not even close!) and took off.
It made me think about the cop I'd been moaning about in my last post - would I have summoned him to my rescue? NO! Unless it's an physical attack on someone else, I honestly wouldn't bother.. I realise this attitude does make solo boating feel more precarious. A refusal to recognise the State as responsible for me and my safety means I have to accept the responsibility for keeping safe, defending myself etc. Solo boating can be a vulnerable way of living, even without crime - accidents do happen, don't they. But I guess we just hope bad things won't happen. And after all, that's the first bad bridge encounter I've had in 4 1/2 years ;-)

Now I'm out in the sticks again and have seen plenty of basin folk going past on their boats, heading out of town. Coincidence? Well, it's half-term, Halloween and I can hear a lot of fireworks going off in the direction of Aylesbury!