First, let's officially learn a new word.

Well, technically it's a word we all know, already.

It's just that its definition wasn't quite correct.

Let's learn its true meaning.

So, it turns out that the term DOESN'T apply to the car ...

... but rather the person driving it.

Friday

Charlie and Simon meet at Tim's and set-off in the Tesla. It's not long before Spotify is put to use, playing a music quiz playlist. It seemed to be a varied and reasonably fair range of genres and ages ... and yet Simon bossed it!

A small retail park in Wrexham provides four things:

1. A Tesla top-up

2. A Burger King

3. A Tesco Extra for the shopping

4. A car park for Charlie to (somehow) injure his right ankle

Tesco provided Simon with arguably the greatest and best presnted range of Pot Noodles, ever

Amongst them was an old favourite - but let's remind ourselves of what happened, 18 years ago, when someone made a painful mistake in choosing this strong-flavoured snack ...

Everybody converges on the cottage, bedrooms are assigned (including a quick re-arrangement of beds in one of the rooms!) and then it was time to check-out the games room!

A doubles snooker frame was played ...

... and despite Pete potting the cue ball a few times, he was on the winning team

Simon tries the darts, whilst having a fan-boy dream of his favourite scorer

We head out to the (only) local pub, about 400 yards away - and it's a cracker!

Cheers!

The Usual Suspects

Saturday

The place.

For a pronounciation, click the link below and then click the PLAY icon  

How to pronounce Bwlchgwyn

The accommodation ... and the fleet

With chef extrordinaire, monsieur Pierre, back on-board it was full English breakfasts all round

One of Pete's best chat-up lines??

We head out and are greeted by the landlord and his dog, "Prince"

When we reach the car park for the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, we see that the whole area is a World Heritage Site

If Charlie & Stevie B named a boat after their love child ...

Turning around a full length narrow boat (i.e. 70 foot long) can only be done in certain places on the canal, in a "winding hole" or, as in this case, a junction or marina entrance ... (Video)

Charlie's family once owned and operated a trip boat like this, back in the ealy 80s, on the Grand Union Canal - complete with a bar, it was used for private parties and, in the summer, walk-on day trips.

>> More about this (and how Charlie was in charge of the day trips, one summer) at our next Sunday pub Show-and-Tell session

Plaque commemorating Thomas Telford, the amazing engineer responsible for the aqueducts and tunnels

Canoeists braving the first aqueduct

The it was our turn to brave the first aqueduct!

The view

Charlie didn't realise that a bird (top left) had photo-bombed his shot!

Going over an aqueduct on a boat can be scary because there is no protection on one side.

These boaters seem unaffected

These girls were having loads of fun ... (Video)

Simon's surfer pose ...

A cantilever lift bridge

The first tunnel

Charlie's attempt at an arty-farty photo ...

The second tunnel

Lunch stop

First bench

Second bench

Piercy Pot Noodle Pic

Simon bought a couple of drinks from the cafe-boat and learnt a new word ...

The second aqueduct, alongside the railway viaduct

A raft of mallard ducks

Just past the end, we cross the border back into England - but only for a few steps, then we were back in Wales

Seems reasonable ...

We head down and back, under the crossings

Ornate gates

Pete spots a large, black & white sheep!

And some more!

On the way back, we see some more canoeists

The Usual Suspects

Dave gets to ride shotgun in the Tesla on the way home - and immediately plays with the settings.

We had a Christmas filter on the screen and then the sat nav map was the Tesla on the surface or Mars!

And then we went all rainbowy ... (Video)

After showers and tea it was time for some 9-ball pool on a snooker table (with 15 balls, to start with - oops!) ...

... and again, Steve was on the winning side!

With two of us not really drinking, we head into Wrexham for a curry

There was something fishy about Steve's

We headed back to the King's Head for some late-night drinks, until it was chucking-out time.

And here's one of our motos (well, rules) for these weekends ...

Later, after tea, toast & cheese and Match of the Day, when the others had gone to bed, Charlie & Simon play an epic game of Chinese Open Face Pineapple poker - epic because it was undoubtedly their longest ever game of poker - over 1 hour & 15 minutes - so long, in fact, that the levels timer reached its limit!

Sunday

Just look at this amazing sight ... now christened "The Breakfast Twelve" (with eight of them shown here).

Thanks again to Pete & Steve, from us all, for producing this for six of us, two days in a row.

Pete chastised Dave for leaving "17 baked beans" - Dave counts them, just to prove Pete wrong.

The official count was 22.5 beans.

A representation of another of Pete's old chat-up lines, perhaps?

"I've got my eye on ewe!"

We just about make it out of the cottage and onto the grass island in time for our traditional two minutes of silence.

The Usual Suspects

As we head out, we go past the local ...

... and past this beauty ...

Vanessa atalanta    (Red Admiral)

... and past this - former telephone box, former information pod and now, library ...

... and past a hi-vis troop leaving the Remembrance Service ...

... and past this appropriately dressed post box ...

... and past the memorial.

Our route takes us all the way down to the bottom of the valley and all the way back up again ... Whose idea was THAT?!      

Clitopilus scyphoides    (Cupped Oysterling)

"If you go down to the woods today ..."

Drinks stop

A teeny tiny pony

(horse shown for scale)

Abandoned boat, no.1 ...

Abandoned boat, no.2 ...

Geranium Endressii    (Endres's Cranesbill)

Sheltering from the drizzle

A 1966 Hillman Imp

Apparently, a well restored one of these can currently fetch £10,000+

As Charlie's dodgy ankle was hampering him and Dave was keeping him company, the others cracked-on without them.    #TopGearRules

So they stop for a revitalising beverage ...

Then Charlie & Dave remember that they'd received an offer of a free ride ...

... from this outfit ...

Yes, Simon kindly comes back and picks them up ... (Video - Volume up!)

We make it back in time to watch Pete & Steve's team, Nottingham Forest, hosting a match against Simon's team, Newcastle United.

It doesn't go well for Forest ...

... although Super Fan Pete wouldn't know about that!

zzzZZZZZ

We had a table booked at the King's Head for Sunday dinner (which we had pre-ordered over the phone, earlier)

The food was superb!

The Usual Suspects

We all had a roast dinner, except Steve, who ordered from the normal menu.

Feeling like a bit of an outcast, he sat himself at the end of the table ...    #BillyNoMates

... and was then spoilt for choice for his beloved cheesecake dessert

Monday

We have "finish-whatever-is-left" breakfast cobs before packing-up and leaving.

On their way back, Simon, Charlie & Tim stop at Stoke for a quick Super Charge

Another great weekend.

QUIZ TIME!

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