Walking out from the boat we discovered a lovely park on the opposite side of the canal, reachable now the flooding is reduced and we can walk across the nearest bridge. The paths were still a mudbath but my tactic of lining my wellies with plastic bags is working well and even though I waded through a few puddles, my feet remained reasonably dry! Occasionally the sun came out which reflected beautifully on the sizeable lakep and there were lots of ducks and swans meandering around. Plenty of toddlers enjoying the puddles and people taking their daily exercise.
Returning to the boat, each of us with a large foraged tree branch, we decided to move further into town. Fortified by coffee and after a great chat on my mobile with a longstanding friend, I took to the helm with instructions from R as to how to steer with a strong wind coming across your path. Of course it went in one ear and out the other, so I just prayed all would be well as R wasn’t on the boat with me. He decided to walk the path and spy out the mooring. The rain started and we passed a few boaters who suggested we hadn’t exactly chosen a good time to move but I wanted hot water to wash my hair so that was generated by the engine – killing two birds with one stone! An interesting mooring, just before a bend (our nice new neighbour W, said sometimes boats moored where we are get a bit of a banging if a widebeam or 70ft boat comes hairing around the bend!) but the upside is we are close to both the waterpoint and the Elsan, situated on our side of the towpath. And as there are no moorings available between us and the facilities we should be able to pull our boat back to our mooring rather than relying on our reversing skills.
The rain persisted throughout the afternoon and evening so we stayed on the boat, enjoying a catch up with friends for an hour and then R got the stove going and chopped some wood, one bit rather thick, so quite an effort. A couple of people stopped to chat at length to him so he got some respite. I honestly don’t know where my afternoon went as I don’t feel I achieved much excepting a WhatsApp call with a friend who moved to Chichester just before Christmas. It was lovely to have a virtual tour of the downstairs of her house as obviously it is likely be a while before any of us are actually allowed inside someone else’s house! I try not to dwell on thoughts like that because I find it is in the thinking of the banal things that we used to do without a second thought that it hits home what strange times we are living in and then I feel sad.
Obviously R and I by not being at home would be missing the popping in to see our friends anyway. I had hoped though that we would have been able to have friends visit us on the boat and experience a bit of canal life together. It is just so different and I can see why so many boaters once they experience living aboard decide to do it full time. It’s not for everyone though – take my water saving exploits today (and now I’ve remembered what I did with some of my afternoon!). Having washed my hair in a bowl leaning over the bath, I decided rather than throw the last couple of bowlfuls of rinsing water, I would use them to hand-wash some dirty clothes and before the remaining hot water in the tank had cooled down. So much easier to have a washing machine!
As I write this, with R gently snoring beside me, the rain is pattering down on the cabin roof and the boat is beautifully warm from the heat of the stove. There is something incredibly cosy about it all, perhaps because I’m in a 4ft 6″ bed!! Its likely to be raining for most of tomorrow and instead of that depressing me I look forward to having a day when I haven’t got to achieve anything. I can just be. I realise that’s a luxury – there are many people, whatever the weather, have got to be out and about with plenty to do, but for those of us who have no agenda, if we can stop and appreciate the space, then that’s something to be thankful for.
NarrowboatTLC 