Set the alarm for 8am. H and J travelling down from the North to see us for the day and threatened a 9am arrival so I wanted to get the boat looking good even though they are only allowed to peer through the windows! Oh and come inside to use the facilities. Otherwise it was warm clothes and rainmacs for the day with the weather not so sunny and a few showers forecast. The plan was for them to arrive early and we would travel along the canal to a winding hole, turn the boat and travel back to where they had left their car. J had asked me to send him our what3word location (app:what3words) which I did, along with a written description of where we are and place names. Unfortunately J took ‘what3words’ as gospel truth and didn’t check they corresponded with my description of where we actually are. I didn’t check ‘what3words’ related to where I was standing, being unfamiliar with using the app. So I had sent J our location the only other time I have used the app, a couple of months back, which happened to be bridge 76 on the GUC!! We are at bridge 35 on the Ashby Canal!! Oh dear. 1hr and a quarter later ……. at least the motorcar travels at more than 4mph. This trip is still a learning curve. Six months on the boat and we are still making rookie errors. Let us hope we learn by them. At least I still had H and J’s Christmas presents to give them, which in J’s case was gin. Think he needed it! The other amusement (because you have to try and see the funny side when something like this happens) was the what3words associated with our actual location: angry.expecting.resembles. J probably felt very angry at the extra journeying time but we still were expecting them and what would the remainder of our day resemble!
Infact the remainder of the day went really well. When H and J eventually made it to the boat with their puppy, in training to be J’s hearing dog, it was lovely to see them after 10 months and catch up on news. Many a happy canal reminiscent was shared as this was the couple we shared a narrowboat with a decade ago when J was in a boot because of an injury and H and I had to walk miles to find food as not as many pubs were open as we had hoped, to give us an evening meal. The puppy is adorable and was very well behaved although he is going through a ‘nipping’ stage so I just had to watch where I put my hands! We meandered along the canal, J taking the helm for much of the first couple of hours although he didn’t much like passing boats so occasionally we would swop places so I had the responsibility of avoiding them! In wide stretches it’s not a problem but so often, having not passed a boat in a long while, you meet one at the tightest corner or narrowest point. The weather was fairly mild but as the day drew on got wetter. Luckily we all had jumpers and waterproofs to keep off the chill and this is afterall England! The forecast for the remainder of our trip is wet near to where we are so we will be getting our moneys worth from our comprehensive wet weather clothing. As long as the sun occasionally breaks through, that’s fine.
The puppy needed a walk and a pee so J and R jumped off the boat a couple of bridges before the winding hole to also stretch their legs. Agreeing to meet at the turning circle H and I continued on the boat but rather surprisingly arrived before the men, who had been slowed down by the puppy. I decided to have a go at turning the boat, a skill that I haven’t tried without R to guide me so I was fully expecting trouble. For some reason it was remarkably easy to do and I felt quite shocked. Of course there was no wind, it was plenty wide enough and there were no onlookers to make me feel self conscious. It may be a one-off but it is a necessary skill to have as at some point a boat needs turning! Unless of course you can find a totally circular route, such as the one we undertook a decade ago.
I am so glad I had made a hot chilli yesterday which we could all enjoy and it helped to keep us warm. It also meant that when we arrived back at where the car was parked H and J and the puppy could go straight home. I am sure J will have appreciated the return journey time of 1.5hrs rather than the 4hrs of the morning, especially as we had not realised by now it was after 6 o’clock. Such is the joy of the boating life – when it is light you can lose all track of time.
R had a 41 Club Zoom where the speaker talked about living with Parkinson’s. Meanwhile I caught up on the last couple of episodes of ‘Line of Duty’ so that I won’t be behind for the last episode. There’s bound to be a spoiler once it’s over so I plan to watch it asap!
NarrowboatTLC 