A simply beautiful morning. We awoke naturally which is always better than being woken by an alarm clock, ready for morning prayers at 8:30. Just after 9 we set off along the canal with the sun shining and not too much wind to contend with. However the weather is fickle and after half an hour it was a little cloudy and a bit colder as I stood at the helm, meandering down the wide canal, passing boats that looked as though the ocupants may still be asleep. Stationary boats always slow a journey because they have to be passed at a very gentle pace so as not to sway them too roughly. Often there are long stretches of canal unsuitable for mooring so, at 4mph, you can make quite good progress! It is when you come across stretches of moored boats nose to tail that you accept the enforced lack of speed. I think after 5 months on the water we have learnt to be patient, realising that rarely do we have to get anywhere in a hurry and that the beauty of canal life is living without regard to the wristwatch.
Bugbrooke turned out to be a beautiful sandstone village, well-maintained and the most lovely church (from the outside!) with one of the best kept churchyards I have seen for a long time and loads of flowers on the graves, probably because yesterday was Mothering Sunday. I met a lady in the churchyard who has lived in Bugbrooke all her life. When I remarked at the size of the churchyard, still obviously being used for burials, she said that land had been left to the church from a previous rector and so the churchyard was able to increase in size. The remainder of the land is known as the millennial field, for the enjoyment of the community. The public footpath took us through a field central to the village that had evidence of medieval farming practices, because it comprised of many regular linear undulated troughs and peaks, spaced about 20 yards apart. We enjoyed our walk around the village and when we got back to the boat the owner of the beautifully maintained boat next to ours was outside, planting up his herbs for the coming months and he was very chatty. It transpires he and his wife own a house in Spain which they have rented out and now live full-time on this boat which they purchased in October. There were lots of teething problems with the boat not helped by the boatyard broker, who handed them the key to the boat, but because of covid, would not spend any time with them explaining how the boat worked. Fortunately for our neighbour, his daughter is a lawyer and so they were able to get recompense for many of the expenses they incurred trying to get the boat fully functioning. It reminded me once again why we should not be tempted to buy a boat!
We left Bugbrooke and travelled on towards Weedon Bec whilst the weather looked dry, which took just over the hour – long enough to heat the water for a bath before we reach our next water tap tomorrow. How right our friend, M, was when he said much of our decision making would be based on our water supply! The meandering along the canal was just so peaceful, save for the occasional train, the bridges very quaint and the flat Northamptonshire countryside afforded us spacious views of fields, our view unhindered by the bare leafless trees.
A last minute decision to play bridge with daughter C meant a delay in supper so R thought a pre dinner glass of red was in order – an excuse to try the bottle recommended from Morrisons which we had thought we would try yesterday and in preparation R had put it by the stove to warm. Imagine his surprise when he saw that the heat coming from the stove had actually forced the cork halfway out the top of the bottle. Just shows the efficiency of the stove and how hot this boat becomes at night!
A new skill I have mastered is one pot cooking on the wood burning stove, last night being no exception as I produced for R an aubergine and pea risotto. In fairness I did use another pan to heat the homemade chicken stock but the real joy of one pot cooking is the minimal washing up! Speaking to another boater who seemed to eek his gas bottle for far longer than us, he says they have a large enough saucepan to cook a whole chicken or large pieces of meat, so they rarely have cause to turn on the oven. I do need an excuse every so often to bake a homemade cake so not sure I will buy into that one and you can’t get delicious crispy chicken skin in a pot!
NarrowboatTLC 