Monday 20th May 2024

I can’t quite believe another week has flown by and still we wait…. there was a glimmer of hope at the beginning of last week when the boards shifted from red to amber on the canal,  but a heavy rainstorm reverted them to red! Now we are nearer to the end of the month than the beginning, so I don’t feel like buying the required CRT licence which would be backdated to 1st May. It makes more sense to restart our travels on 1st June, assuming that we can!

We have briefly returned to the boat and its a calm,  peaceful evening,  the sound of birdsong a pleasant change from London sirens and the steady background noise of city living.   A fluff up of  the cushions (actually it was more,  open them, to see what each cover revealed – from spare blankets,  to knitted socks,  to teatowels – cushion covers are a great storage facility in small spaces!), a cup of tea and an episode of Ted Lasso left us feeling very much at home!  Our extravagance ahead of leaving the boat club is the purchase of a new fridge,  replacing the one that came with the boat.  Unclear of how old it is,  neither R nor I think it works efficiently and it certainly looks like it has seen better days. However,  as it is still working I advertised it on the K&A Facebook page, free to anyone who wanted to collect it and immediately we got a response.  We cannot remove the fridge until we turn Naomhog around as it will only fit through the bow doors, which are presently surrounded by water as we are mooed stern on to the towpath. We are due to have the fuel tank cleaned,  which can only be done with the boats stern in its current position. The new fridge is waiting in the boat club outhouse. Nothing is ever simple with narrowboats – so often, one job needs to be completed before another can commence.  The couple collecting our old fridge, who are only moored a stones throw from us, are delighted with the delay as they need to make room for the newcomer in their boat – a much desired luxury if the weather hots up.

So back to London and I decided to do a Lidl shop, the nearest one being about a mile away.  Lidl offered me a £5 discount on a £25 shop.  I still can’t resist a bargain! The shop went well and, having three heavy bags,  I hopped home on the bus, little realising until I reached the flat that I had left my keys dangling in the trolley, still attached to the lookalike pound coin. Dumping the shopping, a quick explanation to R and I found myself back on the bus,  praying that some honest person would have retrieved my keys. Which they had!  All this delayed my cooking of supper for Farnham friends coming for the evening to see us. They had a dreadful journey,  both ways,  which has not been the norm so far with visitors, but unfortunately, I think they will not want to repeat the experience any time soon!

A few local adverts for the Torrington Farmers market on a Thursday piqued my interest, so we wandered along,  hoping to find an array of market produce to purchase. In reality,  it turned out mainly to be a host of pop-up lunch stalls,  all rather expensive.  Then I spotted a stall selling veggie balls, macncheese balls, and meat balls,  all with salad or fresh pasta.  Profits went to help rehabilitate ex offenders, who also helped run the stall.  The guy in charge had done time himself and was aware of the difficulties of starting afresh after a prison term.  I would willingly support them regularly if it wasn’t for my waistline.  The deep fried balls were all delicious, but seeing them cooked in a cauldron of fat brought home the calirofic content. Well worth it once in a while as a treat and the only stall that was good value for money!

The weekend has been busy.  Friends from the north stayed for three nights,  one night with their two grandchildren of nearly a year and a toddler. It brought home the realities of family life in a London flat compared to a suburban house and garden.  Coupled with a Sunday lunch for 12, because our son decided he wanted to be near Arsenal on Sunday afternoon for the end of season match (no explanation needed for football fans!) along with a few of his friends.  I certainly baptised our kitchen. A simple cheese sauce took me three attempts. The first saw me using icing sugar instead of cornflour (wrongly labelled jar!). The second I burnt the roux, because of the absence of cornflour, I had to resort to the butter and flour method.  Finally, I made the sauce but could not find my food processor discs anywhere for grating the cheese. I’d forgotten what hard work that could be with a hand grater. And as to where my discs have gone……. how can I live in a comparatively  small space yet continually lose everything! Good thing it’s a sunny day – three loads of washing and a challenge to dry without resorting to the tumble dryer – the smart meter remote display is a bit of a reality check!

Making use of our swimming passes I didn’t get very far when I discovered I had everything bar my swimsuit. So I  did my 4mins HIIT regime in the cubicle while waiting for R to finish his lengths, which must have looked pretty strange from the outside with my arms popping up and down!   Went on an extremely crowded tube and as it thinned out, I realised,  even though I was carrying two backpacks,  no one offered me a seat.  I didn’t know whether to be offended or flattered!! Perhaps an older person being offered a seat is a thing of the past,  like so many other niceties that we used to take for granted.  But I did discover one useful freebie today – sign up for an Iceland bonus card and if you are over 60, they give you a 10% discount on a shop on Tuesdays – they’ve branched out and do some fresh veg, OK wine, along side some useful household items, so even if you don’t do frozen,  there’s savings to be had!