Temptation on the Canal run

There was no doubt in my mind Anastasia was the one, her imperious gaze fixed on mine and beckoned me – her top pulled seductively to the side – surely I would not give in so soon to the weakness that had blighted days gone by but Anastasia, and her glorious fullsome pose offered both comfort and just enough of a hint of excitement for premature retirement to be a consideration.

I could feel the cold stare of Scarlet burning through me as it was her who first grabbed me but far too brash, too glitzy and just too damned obvious for a man like me. As I glanced over my shoulder she now assumed a somewhat haughty air, resuming her business-like pose alongside the foxy lady – ah, the once impressive foxy lady - I considered the beauty of her prime, the sleek toned features still visible beneath the facade reflecting a life of hardship and neglect – the years had not been kind but I am sure that even the statuesque gleaming Anastasia may well have met her match in the prime of this foxy lady.

Imagining the feeling of her cold comfort on my aching limbs as we shared a glass from the long stem weakened my resolve further but briefly. NO, I looked at her squarely and she knew – consoling herself that maybe later when the sun hid and the disrepair of her ageing friend found a kinder companion in the soft moonlight bathing her tired form - but now I needed to keep moving and I congratulated myself as I passed from the allure of the femmes fatales through the stoicism of the Magpie and on to the character of “pippa blue" standing shoulder to shoulder with the youthful protector "frankie boy".

I struggled in the midday heat along Grand Union and into Regents Canal through Little Venice and on to Camden before turning back to once again face my earlier temptresses, smiling at the robust rump of “our lass sue” as she ushered me homeward – they all have stories to tell – these magnificent floating ladies of the London waterways.

BelfastBoyRuns