Thursday 10th December

What a treat! Friends from home came to see us. They arrived at The Paper Mill pub, very close to our mooring, and we met in the outside eating area – a marquee with no sides and one central heater. You are right in what I am sure you are thinking – it was blooming cold, even with all our extra layers. A hot bowl of delicious homemade parsnip soup helped the internal heating system prior to us setting off on a brisk walk along the towpath. Not many scenic alternatives on the outskirts of Hemel Hempstead! Unfortunately the footwear of P was not man enough for the puddles and mud associated with British towpaths at this time of year so we felt rather responsible for the state of his shoes after the walk. It was great seeing them though, catching up on local news and having a relatively normal time together, considering all the Covid restrictions. Our only thought though was, was it really necessary to sit outside in the cold when there was a spacious airy pub with only half a dozen people at most inside, all presumably bubbled. I think that’s what I am missing the most – the simple joy of sitting in warmth and comfort with a couple of friends enjoying a drink or meal together. It looks like a long winter ahead!

Our challenge for the day was trying to wirelessly join our printer to our laptop or phone. Two fruitless hours and a few dozen expletives later saw us in PC World buying an old fashioned bit of printer cable to plumb the two together. No doubt one of our children will sort the problem in minutes. Meanwhile we were just happy PC World was less than a five minute walk away.

My luxury of the day was a haircut. Never thought I would say that as I tend to think of haircuts as obligatory necessities. Such fine straight hair as mine doesn’t look any better in my opinion before or after a cut! However even I noticed it needed a tidy up and there just happened to be a salon right by the marina with availability. So post haircut, first conditioner on it for months, it actually feels like an advert – silky smooth!!