Last night at the FS meeting I was asked about the birdsong and what we heard first thing in the morning. I had to confess to not noticing any particular singing nor seeing that many birds on the water. This morning, listening attentively, the first thing I heard was a cacophony of birdsong that made me realise how easy it is to tune out noises that become common place, be it trains, road traffic or God’s humble wildlife. I shall endeavour to listen out for the sounds of nature rather than taking them for granted.
There certainly seems to be a good community of boaters at Braunston. Speaking to a neighbouring boater, who has had a resident mooring here for three years, she related how manic the village becomes in June, with a weekend canal festival, a parade of narrowboats, traditional workboats and barges. You can often tell how seasoned a narrowboater is by the length of their hair and beard, sporting comfortable clothes that may well have seen better days. The lack of vanity is very refreshing. The parade promises an exciting spectacle of colour and jollity but when you think of the size of the canal, the narrowness of the towpaths and its popularity, it sounds to my ears something to perhaps avoid! Although there is a beer tent that, once the festival is over, the boaters are invited to freely drink the barrels dry. Perhaps the time to really avoid Braunston is the day after the festival with sore heads aplenty!
Further along the canal we stopped at the well known, to boaters and locals, narrowboat cafe and enjoyed coffee and in R’s case, a bacon butty and bovril! Whilst awaiting the food I spoke to a lovely old chap who used to run a fleet of narrowboats. Now he lives in Braunston with a boat in the marina which sadly hasn’t been anywhere for the past twelve months. I reflect that once all the boats are allowed back onto the canals it will surely be like Piccadilly Circus!
We walked along the towpath, some of it extremely muddy, the type of mud you squelch into and think you are never going to get out of! We were looking for a mooring with good internet signal although increasingly we are finding what works outside the cabin does not guarantee good reception inside. However we found a spot near to a bridge with a poster advertising Sunday lunch at the nearby village. That’s a treat we last had back in November, courtesy of R’s cousin, at a pub near Aylesbury. The landlady today, when I rang to enquire, could not have been more helpful so we are booked for a takeaway at 1230. Hearing we are boaters, she even suggested somewhere nearby where we can sit and eat as the half-hour walk back to the boat would mean a rather cool and congealed roast dinner!
Walking back to the boat on footpaths rather than the towpath to avoid the mud, meant we took in some lovely views, lots of sheep and gambolling lambs although we did get a little lost so it took longer than anticipated to arrive home. We started the engine as soon as we could so as to get to our mooring before dusk. Turning left onto the Oxford canal felt quite a momentous occasion as we said goodbye to the GUC. Having cut our teeth on this wonderful stretch of the canal network for five months we feel it is time to branch off and sample other watery delights. I realised though, as I rounded a bend and almost went headlong into an oncoming narrowboat, that I have become rather complacent, used as we are to having the canal almost to ourselves! We were on rather a bendy stretch of water and I was not strictly on my side of the canal. The first sighting of the boat I had, I immediately went into reverse and we almost missed each other, although there was a slight bumper car moment. The other boat took the incident in their stride, much to my relief, as canal rage is a possibility. R’s rage is bad enough! He berated me, from 60ft away, for not concentrating as I was speaking to my brother on the phone but I maintain I saw the boat as soon as it came into view and as we were on a bend that was fairly last minute.
Goodbye GUC 
Hallo Oxford Canal
Moored up for the evening I set too finding all the ingredients for supper as we were partaking in a ‘Come dine with me’ supper Zoom with friends from church. It really was quite good fun, although hindered by our phone freezing every so often making communication with the other dinner guests rather stilted and laboured. However it was good to try out different recipes, one a lentil and spinach daal by Jamie Oliver. I don’t think I have knowingly cooked one of his recipes and it was surprisingly tasty, even if it was lacking a couple of the spices. No Waitrose near here to pick up anything remotely exotic! We’ll be eating it for a few days to come – I didn’t scale down the recipe for just the two of us! A side dish of cherry tomatoes cooked with garlic, lemon slices and chilli powder, was also delicious – having never thought to pair lemon with tomatoes I was pleasantly surprised.
We are such creatures of habit – once the dinner was over and the washing up done, we settled to yet another episode of Endeavour followed by some light relief, ‘Friday Night Dinner’. For anyone familiar with FND R has decided he has rather a lot of sympathy for our sons as he recognises a few old man traits that he shares with the father! I think that’s why it either makes him wince or laugh out loud. I am not a fan of the language used but the characters portrayed just lift my mood and make me smile.
NarrowboatTLC 