Monday 8th February

It’s eventually happened! Peering out the window at 6am I see a layer of white crisp snow and decide to retreat back to bed for a duvet day. Ice on the inside of the windows confirms my suspicions that it’s going to be a very cold day so why would I want to venture out.

R has other ideas! He’s decided this is as good a day as any to sweep the chimney. This involves him on the inside of the boat fiddling around with the flue and me on the outside pushing a stiff brush up and down the chimney to dislodge the soot. Infact it didn’t take long and the snow was only a gentle flurry. So, as we were suitably warmly dressed we went for a walk heading into Fenny Stratford. Taking a left we found ourselves at a Dobbies garden centre which advertised that it had not only ‘Cook’ but Sainsbury’s as well in store. It was definitely warmer than both the boat and outside so we decided on a bit of retail therapy, in the hopes they might sell wellies, among other things. We were not disappointed, so not only did R buy a short pair but I replaced my leaking ones with a fushia pink long pair. I can’t wait now to try them out in the flooded area going towards the nearby lakes. Looking at the forecast there’s a window of sun tomorrow morning before more snow arrives in the afternoon, so we shall be up and out early!

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I felt rather middle aged at my joy of buying a collapsible colander and a tea cosy. Never thought a teacosy would become such a necessity but there’s no doubt it does keep the tea hotter longer and tea seems to be a mainstay of boating life (R may disagree and say beer!). Stocking up on some fresh veg, milk and reduced bargains, such as creme caramel and almond and cherry cake, we returned laden to the boat. For us it was a delightful, unexpected outing with hardly anyone else in the whole garden centre so it felt very safe shopping for our groceries. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Dobbies – an almost empty carpark – how long will they survive?

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Evening ended with an episode of Vera – only 3 more to go!