Time to move on and say goodbye to our fellow canal men. The friendly yorkshire man who has a chainsaw on his boat had cut up some wood and left it for us so R nipped to B&Q and bought a hatchet as the logs are still a bit big. The street entertainer in the wide beam is hoping to resume work in April, so look out for a man with three papercups and a rubberball in Covent Garden! Enough to make the mind boggle!
It is getting a little nippy so after dressing I went back under the duvet and as I gradually emerged started wrapping Christmas presents. I had to send a secret santa present to my Japanese nephew in law. Having found that he has a sweet tooth and also has a new motorbike I purchased some suitable gifts that then cost £22 to post!! No doubt they will also be hit by an import duty on arrival! Christmas is fast approaching which feels strange on our boat as we have no decorations to remind us. I thought our house would remain rather sad and sober but I didn’t reckon on son G and girlfriend M, who have discovered my stash of Christmas decorations in the loft and have set too. Sending through the picture of the Lladro Nativity scene was a joy – I bought it in the German ‘naafi’ when my brother in law was in the army (think it cost £70) so it has been on display for over 40 Christmases!
Fortuitously as we were about to set off another boat passed us and agreed to wait at the next lock so we could work the lock together. I had great fun in a stretch of canal, with no other boats in sight, seeing how fast I could go so that I wouldn’t keep the first boat waiting! They were a lovely couple who for over a decade have lived aboard their boat due to straightened circumstances. I didn’t get the feeling they would necessarily have chosen this way of life but they certainly were making the best of it. She knits and sews, they have no computer, just an old DVD player and I got the impression he spent a lot of time fixing technical boat problems. It humbled me to think we are doing this canal lark by choice and have a backstop! Some are not so fortunate. Unusually for this day and age he was puffing away on a pipe which made me nostalgic for my dad. When we were sorting through mum’s possessions in October we came across many of dad’s old pipes and it was like an end of an era disposing of them! It felt very final.
Arriving at Apsley, only an hour after we set out (spoiler alert – more toilet talk!) I had the unpleasant ‘potty’ duty whilst R filled up with water. There’s a great relief knowing the toilet cassettes are all clean and we have two weeks worth of facilities! Infact we are elongating this by checking in for three nights to the Apsley Marina. Our equivalent of a minibreak! At our disposal we will have toilets, showers washing machine, hooked up electricity and water. And a mudfree zone outside the boat! R even bought a small fan heater that we can put on first thing in the morning to take the damp chill away. What luxury! Opposite us is a pub with a marquee so anyone wanting to visit us for a walk and talk is more than welcome as we are allowed in to the pub for tea and coffee (and only need to purchase food if wanting alcohol).
R has finished his accordian practice and another episode of Vera beckons. Intermittently the fire alarm sounds – i think we are a bit smoky tonight. We certainly are roasting hot! Can’t complain as better than cold and damp.
NarrowboatTLC 