No sooner had I waved goodbye to R, who has gone home for the night, but I got myself a date with a fisherman! Google, fount of all knowledge, found me a local wishy washy (chore for the day) and as I set off I chatted to a fisherman on the bank and offered him tea on my return. As I missed a road turning, I walked twice as far ending up luckily at another laundrette. By the time I returned, nearly 3 hours later (and all I did was one load of washing!) the fisherman was packing up to go so we made a date for tomorrow instead! Funnily enough when I went to look for the laundrette I should have gone to it had been replaced with a fast food joint! So I had happened upon the nearest one to the boat. The manageress was very chatty and it was sobering to hear how many dry cleaners and laundrettes have gone out of business. So much of their trade has dried up. She was telling me one of her biggest customers was a guy who owned a fancy dress shop. No parties, no fancy dress, so he’s out of business and subsequently her takings are down. Enterprisingly, rather than go under she is reducing her overheads by only opening 4 days a week and as there are plenty of machines this isn’t a problem for her customers so hopefully she’ll weather the storm.
Looking through my emails I found a reply from CRT re the Elsan saga. They tell me in response to my complaint they have fixed the Elsan today. Result! I hope it’s true as we are no longer there to find out!
Being alone and knowing how much R hates shopping I decided the afternoon was a great opportunity to explore Hemel Hempstead town centre and maybe indulge in some Christmas shopping. I set out blithly not knowing where I was but soon got directions and after half an hour the first shop sign appeared:
For those of you who know me well this is just one of my favourite shops because looking carefully you can find treasure! And today was no exception. Infact as they were restricting numbers it was very empty of shoppers and full of bargains! One of my favourites turned out to be a shortish elasticated warm skirt, perfect over leggings, for £8! Let me tell you on a boat it is not about style but warmth. Arriving home I put the skirt on top of my thermals and trousers and the extra layer has kept me warm enough not to need the central heating! Obviously, not knowing who may read this, I cannot divulge what I bought on the present front! Suffice to say, I filled my backpack, a reusable shopping bag and as I had purchased a plastic container for the boat, I filled that and walked home like a packhorse! Majority of Christmas shopping now ticked off!
NarrowboatTLC 