Began the day listening to our daughter preach at her church on the subject of spiritual comfort. A very apt message, well thought out and delivered in an extremely accessible way. It was rewarding to see her making good use of the skills in communication that she has been blessed with. We then walked to Bull’s Bridge, about 4 miles along a very barren but recently upgraded towpath, as the weather was warm and the sky blue and promising. We went searching for water which we found just after the turn off to the Paddington Arm. Theoretically we should be able to bring the boat along, fill up, reverse and turn in the Arm to then return to our present mooring. Then we will walk half an hour in the opposite direction to empty our potty cassettes in the nearest Elsan, which is above a lock. If we take the boat along not only do we have to operate a lock, we also have to find a winding hole to turn the boat in order to get back to where we started! The logistics at times are a bit of a nightmare especially when grappling with tier 4 and Christmas shutdowns. We are doing a major shop (well, there are only two of us, so not that major!) at 7am tomorrow before the crowds emerge. Paranoia of being in T4 is beginning to set in much against my better judgement. However as we are moored so close to Tesco it does seem sensible to shop as soon as the doors open.
On our walk we saw a sleek, black feathered guillemot diving in the water before it flew off into the distance. Once again it was R who noticed it and told me what bird it was. My knowledge of birds is limited and frankly shockingly poor, along with my knowledge of trees and flowers. I can still remember the nature walks we were taken on at primary school and the boredom I felt, especially when we had to write an account of the walk once back in the classroom!
We had a treat in the late afternoon. My brother, now the senior member of the family (if you discount my brother in law – I am not sure of the hierarchy!) and his wife, invited all the nephews, nieces great nephews and nieces, along with their own children and grand children to a carol concert. Quite a feat considering we had Zoomers from USA, Qatar, Dubai, Austria, Scotland and England, totalling at least 35. It was mayhem – none of us listen to each other at the best of times and we all, barring the married-ins have loud voices and big opinions! It was great! Such a special occasion made more poignant as everyone made an effort to be there and mum would have been so delighted with that. Family was everything to her. How incredible to all be able to see one another across the continents – what an amazing blessing Zoom can be. For us, it was all the more welcome due to the isolated circumstances we find ourselves in.
NarrowboatTLC 