A lot seems to have happened since Saturday lunchtime but perhaps I am just used to a slower pace of life on the boat and get taken by surprise when I get busy!
It was such fun having Ka visit and we had quite an adventurous day. For me, without the reassuring presence of R there was a weight of responsibility. Ka had never narrow-boated before and had a lot to learn in a short space of time! We had 13 locks and a journey of at least 6 – 7hrs to do in order for Ka to return to her car by midday Sunday. We didn’t start out until nearly 1pm because of the transport delays so Ka hit the ground running! It was a steep learning curve and we very soon reached our first lock and Ka got into action. My recent purchase of a set of walkie talkies really came in useful as I could talk Ka through the lock procedure whilst still being on board the boat. She was a quick learner! An added complication of the day was that the boat’s engine cut out at least half a dozen times as we idled at locks, waiting for them to be ready. This is a problem I had hoped we had fixed but obviously not, so I sent a message to Martin asking if he could once again come and look at the engine and include a full engine service. He tried to help advise as best he could but he was off to a wedding, it was half-term with his family and the last thing he needed was me bleating down the phone! In true Martin fashion he was very gracious and patient – I think he likes a mystery to solve! Fortunately each time the engine stalled it restarted easily and Naomhog chugged along beautifully as long as we didn’t linger with the engine running. The first time it happened I did moor at the side of the canal, remove the weed hatch and put my hand down in the cold water to check there was nothing caught around the propellor. I then managed to replace the hatch lid tightly as there is a risk of sinking the boat if the lid is not put back properlyly. A first for me. I’ve always left that particular job to R!
Ka soon got the hang of steering but was too nervous to steer the boat into a lock so she said she would work all the locks. Realising this would exhaust her, I reassured her that even if she banged the sides of the boat entering the lock, she wouldn’t do much damage (it’s a contact sport!) The boat survived and Ka said she was pleased to have learnt a new skill and I was happy to take my turn at manning the locks. However, the combination of teaching a newbie, coupled with the engine saga, meant our day was prolonged and we were amazed to find it was close to 7.30 before we moored up for the day, with still another hour and a half to go. A further complication was the discovery that Ka had left her mobile in the WC at Cropredy! Luckily a very nice boater called James found it and managed to contact Ka’s husband. It was fortunate that James was traveling in our direction and able to reunite Ka with her phone first thing Sunday morning! We were so exhausted by the day that we ate numerous nuts and drank half a 50cl bottle of gin between the two of us!! Slightly regretted it the next morning when we had to be up bright and breezy to get to Fenny Compton before any other boaters so we could secure a good mooring and Ka could be reunited with her phone!
I needed to be in the 14 day, not the 2 day mooring and managed to straddle the demarcation line. I asked the friendly looking man in the next door boat if he might be moving on so I could slide into his place and thankfully he was about to set off. However his departure got somewhat delayed when I discovered he and his wife were one of two couples working for the Waterways chaplaincy as roving chaplains. It was something I had thought about doing last year so I was excited to talk with Chris and his wife, Fiona. They seemed interested in my prayer boat and it really felt like a God given meeting. I mentioned I would like some books of Psalms to give out as a gift as the psalms speak so powerfully about all emotions and feelings. Chris handed me half a dozen ‘New Testament with Psalms’ books that they get a supply of from the Waterways Chaplaincy and he thinks they would give me more. Chris suggests R and I think about joining a group of Christian couples who all have boats on the canals but each does a specific individual ministry. For example there’s a boat that is a roving soup kitchen and one that is used as a vaccination centre. Chris thought a prayer boat might be a welcome addition. All food for thought.
Thinking of food Ka and I went to the Wharf Inn for brunch only to discover they were not ready to serve food so we ended up back at Cropredy hoping the cafe we found on Google was open as advertised. Apparently, according to the neighbour, the owner had had a late party night and there was no sign of him! We found a bohemian cafe on the waterside and by then would have eaten anything! Ka was now en route home so I said I would walk back along the canal to Fenny Compton as it was only 6 miles. I had a really lovely walk. The canal by now was like Picadilly Circus with boats going every which way and queues for the locks. I had lots of chats. One of the most useful was with a man controlling his short narrowboat far better in the lock, going upwards, than I had managed yesterday, when I found my boat banging into the front lock gates because the force of the water entering the lock was greater than my reverse engine power. The simple tip he gave was to make sure the boat is far back in the lock when it starts to fill. That way you do not get caught in the forward stream of water. That tip alone was worth the walk!
Up early to take my soaked washing to the watertap to rinse so that I didn’t deplete my water tank, I met a boater called Gr who lives on a boat called ‘Pilgrim’ and whose motto, I later found out, was to help anyone who asked because he had the time to do so. He had among other things, walked the Compostelo pilgrim journey in Spain but due to worn out knees now is a boat pilgrim. He very kindly attached my three new boat ropes, a birthday present from my children, whilst showing me clever ways to moor more securely. Necessary when there is a lot of passing traffic, the force of which can loosen your ropes if travelling at speed. My ropes are multicoloured, the bow one especially from daughter Ho, because it is the colours of the Jamaican flag, where she loves to be.
A while later, having turned my bow cratch into a little office, a boater stopped to chat and eventually we realised we had met two years ago in Upper Heyford. He remembered my prayer banner on ‘Windrose’ and I remembered he had a wife who stayed at home all week whilst he enjoyed being on his boat. Every Saturday he picks her up to go to Bristol to visit her 99 year old father who still lives alone. The only help he has is from two ladies who call themselves the ‘put to bed ladies’ and between them, visit him nightly to do just that!
The great excitement of the day was John and Val from Jectec arriving with my stern pram canopy, so I feel I have a complete new room on the boat. The washing is already hanging out there, so much better than having ones smalls on view for everyone to see on the side of the boat! It was positively hot, like a conservatory, at tea time and then survived the pounding rain that arrived early evening.
Whilst writing this the day has darkened and my only lights are the battery fairy lights adorning the walls, timed to come on so they can act as a form of security. Where does the time go? Incredible to think another month is drawing to a close. Let me leave you with a saying someone said to me yesterday which gave me pause for thought “You can’t see to believe. You have to believe to see”.
NarrowboatTLC 