Thursday 19th November Day 15 lockdown

To complete my bionic man R had an appointment at the dentist this morning to replace his missing front tooth (another story!) so he set off on foot early from the Holiday Inn for a trip to North Camp station and then back to Guildford where I met him with all the luggage to board a train to Clapham Junction. Saying goodbye to wifi, electricity, baths and warmth was a tad hard but at least I felt excited at the thought of returning to the boat. Waiting on CJ platform for the train to Berkhamstead (weekdays you don’t have to go via London which is much simpler especially with all that luggage!) it was eerily quiet compared to normal. Where are all the people? There were more rail staff than people on the platforms! It really makes you wonder how the public transport system is going to recover. The almost empty carriages are such a far cry from normality. After a straightforward journey back, we arrived to find the boat in one piece, if a bit wet and damp. Amazing how much condensation builds up on the inside of all the windows when away for a few days. Unfortunately the pool of water in the bedroom is still evident, if not a bit worse and the water meter on the boat looks quite low considering we haven’t been around to use it, suggesting that we might have a leak in the plumbing system. Added to the fact it is listing slightly towards the towpath – looks like we will have to contact James and see what is to be done. We don’t want to finish up like our sunken neighbour, although I think the boat has been abandoned a while! It is quite an issue for the Canal and River trust – the boats that are left to rot along the canalside. But for us, once our boat is warm and cosy we settle in for an early night pleased to be back.