I hope you were all as blessed by the weather on Easter Sunday as we were. After a really uplifting service at St Mary’s Market Drayton, we enjoyed a stroll through the Shropshire countryside with our friends before preparing a roat pork feast. Having offered them lamb, I felt remorseful that by the time I went food shopping on Saturday afternoon, there was not a morsel of lamb in sight! I slightly redeemed myself by managing to produce almost perfect crackling – a first for me! I remember years ago having my brother and family for Christmas dinner and they arrived ready to roast their own potatoes, such is my reputation for anything I deem unhealthy! I did surprise them by having factored roasted potatoes and parsnips into the Christmas repas! We missed spending Easter with our children, but I was gratified to know 3 of them were together and the elder sister had even encouraged her younger brother to go to church en famille. Not through a mum nag!
One of my biggest joys has been the newly restored shower (at least one reader of this blog will be very pleased to hear that!) which was a palaver but in my opinion, well worth all the effort. In the three years we have had the boat the only way to have a hot, but not too hot shower, was to time the temperature of the water post travelling. Too soon and it was scalding hot. Too late and you risked a lukewarm offering. Not pleasant on a cold day. So I became more feral until the shower stopped producing any hot water at all! A trip into Shrewsbury found us at two different shower suppliers and two plumbing establishments until we were armed with a thermostatic shower replacement and the necessary adaptors as we could not find like for like. Without a car, it was quite an expedition, hindered by an extremely cold wind and inadequate clothing. Still, I felt we had achieved our mission and happily handed the new unit to the plumber to install little knowing what a complicated task he had ahead of him. Five hours later……BUT we now have a fully operational shower with mixer taps that do their job and I am forever indebted to C for his patience, kindness and hard work.
R and I have learnt a new boating term – ‘The Office’ from our Canal Ministry friends. It is the place where admin gets done, free WiFi, copious free refills of any hot drink (£1.19 for Lavazza coffee) along with mega all day breakfasts. Aka Weatherspoons or ‘Spoons’! Now, before becoming a boater, I admit I was very sniffy about Weatherspoons, probably had never even darkened their doors. But whenever we get together with the CM team, if there’s an Office, that’s where you will find us! It’s extremely good value for money, it’s warm and it’s welcoming. It honestly makes you wonder why so many of us spend about £4 on a cup of coffee in mediocre coffeeshops. So yesterday, armed with my mobile phone, I settled myself into a comfy corner and accomplished my mission of passing both my Level 2 food hygiene and Allergen certificates. Both good to have before I cook for 30 people for 4 days, catering for our daughter’s film crew as they produce a short film in May. One challenge is buying sufficient food, but not too much, as there’s a strict-ish budget and incorporating the special diets, mindful of the allergies that seem so much more prevalent in today’s modern world.
We’ve offered day trips along the canal to give people a taste of what it’s like to be on the cut. There’s a good stretch of canal without a lock in sight and a winding hole so that we can change direction but it’s a bit more tricky when we get back to where we started. This morning R managed to turn us around just using the ropes and the breeze. I was slightly alarmed as I was inside the boat, not knowing what he was doing, but equally impressed that he could turn the boat on his own without using the engine! We’ve seen some impressive historic boats en route home from a festival in Ellesmere, which many attended.
One of the lovely aspects of this nomadic lifestyle is not knowing who you will meet along the way and it’s often friends of friends, when someone we know realises they have a friend or family member close to where we are moored. We spent a delightful afternoon, with a couple we are connected to by family and he turned out to be a horticulturist like my brother. He even remembered meeting him over 40 years ago at a Scottish reeling party. We went to Woollerton Old Hall (Monty Don featured it on one of his programs) and K was able to fill me in on all the plant names. My brother will be impressed – he knows I’ve only ever looked around a handful of gardens in my life and can barely distinguish a flower from a weed. I must say, now that we don’t have a garden, I do appreciate someone else’s! So much so that yesterday afternoon found me voluntarily weeding another friend’s garden path. It was most satisfying! In return she cooked dinner. R was treated to meat and two veg, a lot more appetising than another onepot meal from his wife!!
Off to Shrewsbury on the bus, as last week we only managed utilitarian shopping. We’ve heard it’s well worth a visit as the town scape, made of local stone, is very attractive.
Overlooking the train station we got to see the Tornedo, a steam train built in 2000 and used by Jeremy Clarkson on TopGear to race against a car and a motorbike to Scotland. I don’t think it won!!
You’ve probably gathered we haven’t moved very far in the last week, but it’s been a great opportunity to be sociable and get ahead with some boat chores. I even bought some potted plants at the local market yesterday to replenish my boat trugs and get a little garden going on the roof. I’m limited to the bow end of the boat – it’s incredibly frustrating trying to manoeuvre the mid rope, disentangling oneself from all the paraphernalia on the roof. It took me a while to admit R was right – our first season of boatlife I had flowers everywhere I could find a space, but it proved to be impractical and annoying!
As an aside, I have literally just received this from a friend, so I thought I’d share it:
Definition of “hospital” by Pope Francis
Pope Francis always surprises with his reflections:
“The walls of hospitals have heard more honest prayers than churches…
They have seen far more sincere kisses than those in airports…
It is in the hospital where you see a homophobe being saved by a gay doctor.
The ‘posh’ doctor saving the life of a beggar…
In intensive care, you see a Jewish person caring for a racist…
A police officer and a prisoner in the same room receiving the same care…
A wealthy patient in line for a liver transplant, ready to receive the organ of a poor donor…
It’s in these moments—when the hospital touches the wounds of people—that universes intersect with divine purpose, and in this communion of destinies, we realize that alone, we are nothing.
People’s absolute truths, most of the time, only appear at the moment of pain or the real threat of a definitive loss.
The hospital is a place where human beings remove their masks and reveal themselves in their true essence.
This life will pass quickly.
Don’t fight with people.
Don’t criticize your body too much.
Don’t complain too much.
Make sure to hug your loved ones.
Don’t worry too much about keeping the house spotless.
Keep the dogs closer.
Don’t save the good dishes.
Use the new silverware.
Why not call now?
Why not forgive now?
You’re waiting for so many things: Christmas, Friday, next year, when you have money, when love arrives, when everything is perfect…
Listen—perfection doesn’t exist.
Human beings can’t achieve it because we simply weren’t made to be fulfilled here.
This is a place for learning.
So make the most of this life trial—and do it now.
Respect yourself. Respect others.
Love more, forgive more, hug more, live more intensely!
And leave the rest in the hands of the Creator.”
Pope Francis
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