Wide awake at 0330, partly because R couldn’t sleep so decided to read and the torchlight was quite bright. I often seem just to doze from about that hour of the night but it took a long time to actually get back to sleep and before I knew it the alarm was ringing for our 8am weekly prayer meeting. I always seem to sleep badly when I have to have an early start! Got the heating on so we could have hot water for a hair wash and bath. However our timings were out so the hair got washed in lukewarm water and then we turned the engine on to boost the heating further returned to bed for half an hour! Post bath, both of us in a complete clean set of clothing, I took dirty clothes and all bedlinen to the wishy washy so that once we leave marina everything that can be clean on boat is clean, including R! So good to take delight in such small pleasures! R made use of the Elsan, filled the water tank to the brim once I had wet washed the floors and we were ready for the off. Quite a tricky manoeuvre leaving the Marina because of where our boat had been moored and also due to the south easterly wind that then followed us down the canal. Very shortly we found a beautiful stretch of canal to moor up, beside a lovely open park. Unfortunately two hours later we were having to pull the boat along the canal trying to find some internet signal. Daughter H had tried ringing us and we realised we had no connection anywhere in the boat. As I had not only my regular Friday afternoon Zoom but also our Zoom monthly Filling Station meeting, it really was going to be a bit of a problem without signal. Visions of standing outside the boat in the cold, and maybe rain, was not appealing! Thankfully just when we thought we were going to have to admit defeat the 4G sign illuminated. I have to admit I stayed in exactly the same position on the boat for 80 minutes, the duration of our double length Zoom, just in case only pockets of the boat are internet friendly. Why is it that the problems only occur when you really need to be online! The further along the canal we go the longer the walk to Waitrose and we really will need some fruit and veg by Sunday so I don’t want to travel too far. Also it is so idyllic moored up by a park. Looking out of the window and seeing green spaces and trees is such a treat in the middle of a built up city.
We attended our monthly Filling Station meeting with an inspirational speaker, Russ Parker, author of many books. He talked about the healing of our lands. So often when physical healing occurs, the place where the dis-ease arose also needs healing. He spoke of a priest who asked farmers who were affected by the foot and mouth outbreak in, I think, the seventies, if he could go around the boundaries of their farms, praying for healing to occur. In all instances the foot and mouth outbreaks cleared up. This was just one example to help us understand the importance of location in having healing and health. He showed other examples throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Regretfully as it was a Zoom meeting we were limited to an hour in total (hard to concentrate on Zoom for longer!) so Russ only had a relatively brief time to speak which disappointed me because I could listen to him for much longer. He has a wonderful way with words and stories and bringing the subject he is speaking on to life. Very similar to our friend AP who has recently done 6 enthralling physics lectures where his enthusiasm for the subject bubbles over and infects all the listeners.
The last episode of Mum was a great way to finish the evening as the main characters walked hand in hand off into the distance with a couple of bottles of bubbly and a metaphorical farewell to their past lives
NarrowboatTLC 