I did get a cup of tea in bed and managed not to spill it this morning. A quick Zoom meeting with Breathe and then off to the marina cafe for our promised breakfast although by now it was 10.30. My hot cross bun was slightly disappointing as it had been heated in a microwave but it was good to support the cafe and give it some custom.
The Buckby locks were next on the agenda and we managed 6 out of the 7 before stopping just before the top lock to attend the Zoom funeral of my mother’s oldest friend, Jeannie. A bit bizarre on a narrowboat but we are all getting more used to taking part in such ceremonies in our home environment. Jeannie had been a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music so obviously music was very important to her and it was sad that no singing was permissible at the crematorium. However the recorded pieces of music chosen were beautiful to listen to and the eulogy was one of the best I have heard in recent times. It brought Jeannie’s wicked sense of fun to life reminding me of the ribbled sense of humour she shared with my mother and the many limericks that they frequently entertained guests with. Not for the faint hearted! For me it felt like the end of an era and I was glad to see my brother and sister were actually able to be present. After lunch we finished the last lock and then, on the left as we came out of the lock we came alongside Daydream and I managed to peer into the boat that we may well be moving onto. Although different to Windrose it does look rather nice but it still looks like a lot of work needs to be done before we can move on board, so the thought that this might happen at the end of the week is an unlikely prospect. Further along we passed the arm towards Leicester but we turned left and moored up opposite a large field, sheep grazing and a beautiful view. The lady in the boat next door was obviously a folk singer and unbeknownst to her we enjoyed her impromptu performance! I then had a phone call with Alex, the boat broker, who suggested that we might like to stay on Daydream until the middle of June as it is vacant until then. This put me in a quandary as I would love to stay on the water longer but R is ready to go home and catch up on overdue chores. We have until the weekend to make up our mind. It may be that I will stay on the boat until the end of April, with Richard coming and going. It will be on the Oxford Canal so anyone is welcome to join me for a walk as I think that’s allowed! One of our regrets of this trip has been the inability to offer friends and family hospitality – hopefully we can do so when we embark on another cruise, as we hope to do.
Lent group discussion, followed by ‘Death in Paradise’. We certainly know how to live it up in lockdown!
NarrowboatTLC 