Author: Mary

Set the alarm to put the heating on, just so that I could have a hot bath before going to the water tap later this morning. Thought an hour would be long enough, so was disappointed when the water was lukewarm. Three kettle fulls of water and 2 saucepans boiled up did the trick of making it warm enough to just make it an enjoyable,  though speedy, experience! Now here’s a joy of boating those of you with copious amounts of hot water may turn your nose up at. Once out of the bath I took a bucketful of the water, added detergent and the few clothes I wanted to wash (nowhere near a washing machine at present so trying to keep enough smalls clean!) and left them to soak. It’s the rinsing out that seems to take alot of changes of water so I still try and double up water usage when possible to eek out the tank. Once the boat is running I can spin them in the washing machine. I have given up any attempt to wash clothes in it – you can put hardly anything in weight wise and it takes 3 and a half hours to process. That’s a ‘quick’ wash at the recommended 30°! Even a sparse bucketful of clothes needs to be spun in two loads or the spin won’t work.

Had to empty the dreaded Elsan – no R to do it for me! Cost all of £2.50 as at a private boatyard. They sold beer so I got a bottle for BBT to enjoy as he assisted me at the locks. He’d already been to Thrupp to assess the mooing situation and found three spaces vacant at that moment. A narrowboat was being blackened under the bridge near to me, before the water point, so I did wonder if that would hold me us as there was no room to pass. However the job didn’t take too long so at just past midday I took my courage in both hands and moved the boat alone – a first time for everything! I was slightly nervous, especially as the wind was ‘moderate’  but I got round that by alighting under the bridge and, using the midrope, walked the boat the remaining short distance to the watertap. Remembered to empty the rubbish (R usually does that) and then went to meet BBT off the train. We planned to head to Thrupp confident that one of the three spaces would still be available. Otherwise am not sure how R could find me. It’s easy to forget that the canal does not necessarily follow a road or anywhere you can easily find parking so just stopping the boat canalside is not always a good option!

• 

• 

We set off with 5 locks ahead of us and quite a lot of meandering along the canal, at times making slow progress because there were quite a few moored boats that need to be passed ‘on tickover’.  It took 4 hours and then BBT had to walk back to his car, so a long day for him. It all went smoothly although there was one lock that was hexagonal in shape, like the one at Aynho, and it proved tricky to fill as the bottom gate didn’t shut properly.  It only had to rise 12″. A ‘first’ for me was taking the boat on the river – BBT said it reminded him of the Mississippi whereas in reality it was the Cherwell! Still it was a good river to cut my teeth on as the tide was not too strong so I didn’t feel out of control and I managed to moor up OK. Another of the locks had so much debris in the water I got hold of my windlass, like I’ve seen R do countless times and hauled a great big pile of it out of the canal. There’s even a picture of it, so pleased was I with my effort!

• 

• 

• 

• 

When we arrived in Thrupp we had to go through an electric bridge at a right angle so that took a bit of navigating and on the other side I was relieved to find BBTs sighting of the mooring earlier in the day still available.  Thrupp consists of a length of canal that is chocca with boats and I felt blessed to find anyway to moor. Usually you can only stay on the moorings for a limited time but in lockdown boats have been allowed to stay indefinitely so the popular places have filled up and remained static. There’s a really great looking pub very nearby but sadly that remains closed until the 16th apparently. But there’s also parking which will be great for R’s return.

I felt pretty tired and was glad to find leftovers in the fridge to heat together – reminded me a bit of my mum’s ABC soup – all bit’s combined! I had a phonecall from my mother in law, very unusual. R had been allowed to see her today and she’d given him a bag of her old clothes to bin. However she thought he hadn’t paid attention so was letting me know what I had to do when I found a strange bag of clothes in the car. I asked how she thought he looked and quick as a flash the word ‘dreadful’   came out, meaning she hated his longer hair! Mother’s never change. I hardly ever got a compliment about my hair from my mum. She was firmly of the opinion all hair should be curly and tried for years to get me to perm mine. It was always a great disappointment to her that I had straight boring hair!

Finished the evening watching two series I just don’t think will appeal to R. ‘Line of Duty’ and ‘Behind her Eyes’, the latter having been recently recommended although I have to say psychological thrillers leave me feeling anxious so am not sure I will finish the course on that one!

Awake at 4am I spent two hours writing before falling back to sleep until 0930. The trains kept me company – some of them are so long they take 20seconds to pass by and that’s going at speed! This weekend there will be night work on the railway right next to our boat with bright lighting so tomorrow I plan to move the boat. A friend is coming to help as he can stay outside as the weather is set to be fair.

After my weekly Wednesday Zoom I sat on the bow of the boat awaiting the arrival of a very long standing friend, who lives close by. Just before her arrival a very young chatty Polish guy stopped by, making himself comfortable on the grass and mid talk S arrived so we had a lively discussion on conspiracy theories as it was obvious this guy was convinced by them. After he had gone on his way S and I settled down for a long catchup. We had planned on a walk but S’s knee was rather painful so we thought that might do more damage. Just sitting in the sun on the towpath, watching the world go by, was blissful and felt so normal! S suggested I visit Rousham Garden less than a mile from the boat so after a quick lunch I did just that, taking a thermos with me. I had to pay an entry fee of £8 which will probably surprise my siblings who know gardens are not usually my thing! However, it was a beautiful afternoon and the garden was worth every penny. Absolutely stunning location and amazing garden, lovingly tended for, I cannot recommend it highly enough. I had a relaxing meander around the extensive and varied grounds and then found a bench to sit on, overlooking a circular pond with tadpoles jumping around. Enjoying my thermos of tea,  like in the olden days, I reflected there was no cafe because the gardens have been kept deliberately free of anything commercial. In addition, no children under the age of 15 allowed in, so very peaceful! There is some sad tradegy attached to the house which is why children are not allowed on the premises.  The house is open to the public by arrangement only. I am not sure it is even lived in but it is owned by the same family who lived there in the 17th century.  For interest to the garden enthusiasts, the garden was landscaped by William Kent (1685-1748) and remains almost as he left it!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Returning to the boat I picked up a log I had spied on the way to the house. I think it is the biggest I have carried so far and I am hopeful R will be very pleased with my ability to forage! He may not be saying that as he saws his way through it!!

The weather was so warm I sat on the bow in our picnic chair and listened first to the familiar sound of tennis being played and then a jolly garden supper, followed by the same funny games I used to play with my friends – obviously, they were a group of young men, (no female voices!) just enjoying the pleasure of being together on a relatively warm March evening.

It was also our lent group and the only way I could connect was by sitting outside, without my Zoom video, so I was a disembodied voice which must have been a bit odd for the others who could all see each other. It was interesting though – all about the films and TV we watch, looking at them from the prospective of what conversations they might spark with those who are searching for the meaning of  their life and what else might there be in the unseen realm and beyond this world. Christians are encouraged not to live in their own bubble, but to engage with all that is going on around them and try to communicate the relevance of their faith in the hear and now.

Meanwhile R, back at home, was enjoying an outdoor supper, (apparently trying out our friends new patio heaters!) and a picture whatsapped to me, showed a very relaxed man, obviously happy to have a bit of civilization and a proper meal cooked for him! A small cheroot spied between his fingers led me to suspect he had conveniently forgotten it was still lent and I don’t think he realised J would take a picture to send me! What a snitch!! As lockdown eases, a bit of FOMO may set in. It’s been easy on the boat knowing everyone else has been at home without socialising.  A true test for me will be how I  feel once everyone is able to get together – will I still prefer the joys of being on the boat or will I yearn to be back home! Only time will tell. As it was, last night I had an early night, retreating under the duvet before the cold set in, which I am sure was good for me!

First day of waking up on the boat alone and after a restless night.  I was surprisingly cold overnight with quite severe muscle ache in my inner thighs which could be the result of my jab or my long walk yesterday. Or just old age creeping into my creaking bones! I got up too late for breakfast so a quick cup of tea sufficed as I washed my hair in bowlfuls of cold water with the chill taken off by adding hot water from the kettle! It was far too warm a day to justify turning on the heating, or the engine for that matter, just so that I could wash my hair! I then took the opportunity of giving the boat, especially the bathroom, a very good clean which left me feeling virtuous! Having emptied nearly all our water bottles I set off to the nearby water tap to refill about 15 litres which were quite a weight on the return journey! Arriving at the tap I realised I would have to wait as another boater was filling his tank. He suggested I disconnect his hose, fill my bottles and then reconnect his hose, as he was expecting his fillup to take over an hour! Apparently this water tap is one of the slowest on record. We fell into a lengthy chat as had been living aboard over a decade (must have taken very early retirement!) and at this longterm mooring for five years. His idea of a holiday was pootling to Leighton Buzzard or some such! His boat was so full of LPs and books that it listed to one side until he took an ‘essential’ journey to Thrupp, where they have an outside book bank under a  shelter and he managed to offload a quantity of books. I quizzed him about taking the boat into Oxford, which he thought a very bad idea as absolutely no mooring spaces available.  They all got filled up during lockdown, as noone should be moving unnecessarily and moorings that are usually, in Oxford, for 24hrs have had the same boats on for months on end. He felt Banbury was a far better option. Less likelihood of drunks walking over your boat late at night! He also gave me suggestions of where my internet might be improved which was helpful of him. By the time we finished chatting it was almost time for my sister and husband to arrive. Great excitement for me to have family visiting – think I last saw C in early October,  sorting out mum’s belongings. As the weather was so glorious we had arranged to have a picnic beside the boat and it was lovely to do something that felt so normal and a relief not to feel we were breaking any rules. We took the opportunity to walk around the village after lunch and it really is very picture postcard pretty.

• 

• 

One of the suggestions for internet signal was a few boats along from my mooring so I wandered along and stopped alongside a boat where a man was in his bow. We got chatting and it took me about 20minutes to extricate myself. I think my sister must have thought I’d got lost or fallen in the canal! The man came along the towpath as we were indulging in hot cross buns and tea, so another long chat ensued. I really like hearing the stories of the other boaters. He then recommend I stand in the middle of the railway bridge for signal so after C and N left, I did just that, to no avail. Eventually arriving back on the boat I found stronger signal there than anywhere else, although not strong enough to upload any pictures onto my blog. Enough to watch episode 1 of the new Line of Duty. Not R’s Cup of tea so am indulging whilst home alone! Spoke to R who had found all my online purchases and will bring them with him at the weekend.  He didn’t seem too fazed! Having mowed the lawn he was exhausted and ready for an early night. I cobbled together something to eat and retired to bed, hopeful of a better night.

Apologies for the lack of pictures in yesterday’s blog. I shall upload them when I have better internet. It is a sign of the times that one of our basic necessities on the boat appears to be signal strength! To that end I ended up doing a 12 mile walk this afternoon but more of that later.

The day started at a leisurely pace. After last night’s frustrations with finding signal we abandoned Monday morning Zoom prayers and I even managed to get out of bed first to make R some breakfast although it turned out to be a rather strange porridge with a lot of small broken up Brazil nuts. R ate the entire bowlful imagining part of his tooth had broken off! When he had his facial trauma with his bike accident miraculously his teeth survived but I think they were weakened and he is having payback now as problems emerge, such as bits of his teeth chipping.  It doesn’t help when I feed him al dente vegetables and nuts.

Baby Breathe mid morning was delightful but frustrating because even though I sat outside, the internet came and went so it must have been rather annoying for the others on Zoom. I got my fix of seeing some cute babies and then in the early afternoon my day was made when our friends N and T arrived on the towpath with their 3 children under 3, the baby being just 9 days old. She was so tiny and beautiful and it was a joy to be with a young family after so long on our own. The two toddlers were adorable and so good. Always a slight worry having the young so near to water but they kept away from the edge of the canal and there were no near mishaps! We all walked with R to the station platform, which took all of three minutes and waved him off. Three changes of train to get home but when he rang me later he said it went like clockwork.

Meanwhile after our friends left I set off along the towpath to find our next mooring which will hopefully have better signal as I would like to join the Zoom services for Holy week on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Ideally Thrupp would be my next destination but it was a bit too far to walk. As it was, my round trip started at 4pm and I staggered back to the boat at 8pm, just as darkness was falling. I realised I had to put on an extra burst of speed if I was to arrive home before dark so the walk did feel like a workout! I had taken an external phone battery charger with me so I was able to talk at length to a couple of friends and my eldest daughter and then, to help speed me home, I put on my Spotify playlist of fast walking songs. In the first lockdown when I didn’t leave the house at all, instead of outside exercise I found an exercise video that was based on walking four miles an hour. The beat and speed of the music ensured you kept to time and I loved it for its simplicity. Interspersed with the walking steps were extra moves to keep the body moving in different directions. Once I had mastered the moves I found my own favourite music and was able to do my own thing. The music came in handy today to keep me motivated. It was the most beautiful walk as the sun was shining and the reflections on the water at times were stunning. I only met a couple of other walkers on the entire walk, probably another reason I wanted to be back by dark. It did feel rather isolated in parts with no boats moored and obviously, due to the excess murder mysteries R and I have partaken off over the last few months, my imagination was working overtime!

• 

• 

• 

• 

R had rung me en route to say he had arrived home. I still at that point had another hour’s walk ahead of me but I was keen to know if all the parcels had safely arrived with things I have been busy ordering recently, mainly from bargain sites, such as Approved Foods and Brandalley. I also had ordered a treat for R. He is rather partial to the hot fresh fruit infusions that my nephew has developed in preference to dried teas, such as lemon and honey or mixed berry. Known as Tea Rex, the infusions are made using fresh ingredients such as lemon, turmeric and black pepper. They taste amazing and we had run out of a supply on the boat so I reordered last week in order for R to enjoy them now he’s home. He has got a couple of errands to do for me, one being the collection of my mother’s ashes and a memory stick with her service on, from the undertakers. I just hope they haven’t thought we have forgotten all about her as her funeral was 6 months ago!

I tried an interesting take on a pancake a la Joe Wicks. An egg, a banana and a spoon of peanut butter all mixed up and then fried as a batter. They were OK, a bit too eggy for my taste but a great use of overripe bananas. Off to bed early as the boat cooled. R has laid up a fire for me to light but I’m just as happy snuggling under the duvet and leaving the stove for another day.

After five months on the boat with R, today was like a continuous assessment examination – at least that’s how it felt as we started out from Banbury and I did everything as though R wasn’t on the boat (in fairness, when we stopped at the facilities he did the Elsan but I’ve had plenty of practice over the months so I don’t think that needs testing!). This is in preparation for when he goes back and forth home to mow the lawn and sort paperwork etc. Originally we were due to leave the boat at the end of March because another couple were booked to take it, but plans have changed and it’s available now until mid June. It always seemed sad that we would miss the change of season, the trees blossoming and the wild spring flowers bursting forth with unexpected colour on the towpath verges. Not to mention, we hope, warmer sunny weather, although that is never a given in Britain! So R and I came to a compromise that means we are now leaving the boat at the end of April.

• 

• 

Which brings me back to the continuous assessment! I wanted to prove to myself I was capable of handling the boat on my own if for any reason I need to move it. I didn’t want to feel trapped in one place because I was uncertain of how to operate a lock on my own, or moor up the boat. Funnily enough the latter proved the most tricky, but more of that later! Over the months teamwork has been key and we have devised ways of doing things which naturally fall into two roles. So I have never done everything alone and certainly, when working the locks, you need to be systematic or you can end up in a right old pickle. The midrope is a case in point. If you don’t think ahead as to which side of the roof you are going to have to grab it from it’s pretty useless to you, especially when ‘walking’ the boat out of the lock chamber. It needs to be quick and easy to grab hold of. It’s also vital to loosely tie the mid rope to a bollard in the lock so that when the boat lowers down and no one is on it, it’s possible to keep the boat steady. There’s a sill on the lock gate that if the boat gets caught on, will tip the boat and cause a lot of damage. Easy with two of you – one keeps an eye whilst on the helm and moves the boat back and forth as necessary.

• 

• 

• 

• 

What I had to battle with today was a moderate wind, which made handling the boat a bit more tricky as it felt like it has a mind of its own. Just going slowly past the moored boats along a narrow stretch of canal, meant that our boat was veering sideways rather than moving forward and I thought I would scrape the moored boats . Once at the lock I had to moor up; leave the boat to fill the chamber by opening the paddles (problem if too stiff and hard to move but luckily not in this instance); open the gate (can be easier said than done!); return to the boat, unmoor being careful not to trail the rope in the water where it could get tangled with the propellor; look ahead to see which side the bollards in the lock are on so that I put rope same side on roof; manoeuvre boat very slowly into lock reversing slightly to halt its progress forward; jump off boat and shut gate and lower paddles; secure rope to bollard but loosely to cut enough slack as the boat lowers down; open front paddles to let the water out, then take hold of rope to steady boat in chamber; open gate, remembering to lower paddles; walk boat out of chamber or throw rope onto towpath side of roof and then lower myself down slippery ladder to the helm of boat and steer it out of chamber; moor up on bollards and return to lock to shut the gate (or gates – if there are two there’s a lot of extra walking, remembering the lock is 70ft in length!); return to boat, thinking ahead as to where the midrope should be placed for next mooring up; push off from the side at the front of the boat to get into the middle of the canal but quickly return to the other end of boat to jump aboard before that end leaves the water’s edge! What a palaver on ones own – it takes twice as long and requires concentration as well as muscle power. Pulling the boat into the side is hardwork at the best of times but with a wind as well, it requires a lot of strength and weight. Up till now R has always done it and I had never fully appreciated how hard he has worked – a 60ft boat with approx 12 tons of weight to move.

I think I did 4 locks (lost count!) so felt quite proficient by the end! One was very strange – it was hexagonal in shape so can fit up to 4 boats. A boat on its own has to be secured so as not to drift into the middle of the chamber and it was very tricky ‘walking’ it out. It is a ‘wier lock’ and if the river is running too fast into the canal there’s a warning board which means you are not allowed to enter the lock and have to wait until the weather improves. Luckily for us that wasn’t a problem today.

What was a problem was my mooring up for the night! We found a lovely stretch of water with few trees and a beautiful view across flat fields so I assumed I could move the boat parallel to the canal side, jump off midrope in hand, pull the boat close alongside and secure midrope. Then secure fore and aft ropes. I hadn’t factored in the wind, nor the fact that there were no trees to act as a natural wind break. The one available tree I tried to use as a bollard to secure the midrope around, but try as I might, I could not pull the bow of the boat in – it kept veering into the centre of the canal. Eventually I decided to hop back on board and try to steer the front round but all I succeeded in doing was drifting the entire boat to the muddy side of the canal and getting stuck (meanwhile R was watching helplessness from the towpath!). I tried to pushoff using the boat pole but didn’t have the strength to make a difference. Eventually by reversing hard I freed the boat from the mud but then heard a plop – the pole was floating (luckily it didn’t sink!) in the canal. So I went to the bow and found the grabber stick we use for picking up rubbish, walked along the outside edge of the boat where the pole was parallel and quite closely, managed to grab it, haul it up side of boat into my hand whilst still holding onto boat with other hand. Amazing what you do when you have to! Safely back at the helm, pole secured, I reversed the boat back to the towpath and threw R the midrope. I just couldn’t do it on my own. So what did I learn? It may look picturesque to moor the boat with no windbreak and a beautiful view but actually if it is windy, find a sheltered mooring!!

• 

• 

After all the excitement of the day I was pleasantly tired but luckily still had energy to cook the planned supper I had deliberately bought all the ingredients for. It was a Joe Wicks vegetarian cottage pie, using diced cauliflower (should have been blitzed but I don’t have food processor) instead of potato mash, with grated cheese on top. The beauty of it on the boat was that I didn’t need to use the oven. You assemble the pie hot, top with cheese and grill. It was delicious and well worth the effort.

Started watching The Crown, series 4, but I must say I wasn’t gripped and when R asked if I wanted to see the next episode I declined. Maybe I was just tired from the day’s excursions or maybe its not so gripping watching events you remember. Whatever the reason I took myself off to bed and was asleep almost as my head hit the pillow. Did then awake at 0330, which is now 0430 and wrote up the blog, in the hopes I will drift off to sleep again before daylight. There’s something banging on the roof due to the wind which is very irritating but I can’t bring myself to investigate outside in the dark!

Thinking ahead, I am probably not going to have access to much of a food shop next week so I need to make sure I have enough of the basics. To that end I did a stocktake of all the food on board and then, finding every conceivable empty container on the boat, I set off for the ‘zerowaste’ shop I passed yesterday. A cornucopia of delight! I really hope we will see many more springing up over the country. I had great fun making my own peanut butter to the crunchiness I desired and then I ground my decaf coffee so that its suitable for the Italian stove top coffeemaker we have – R really likes using it over a cafetiere. I liked that I could choose how much of anything I wanted without the quantities being preset. The only treat I brought pre packaged were some small 100% chocolate Easter eggs filled with peanut butter! Delicious I am sure. As R doesn’t buy Easter eggs I bought this for him to give to me!! The shop had so many environmental friendly products, from bamboo toothbrushes and socks, to beeswax covers and aluminium free deodorant sticks! They even had metal straws and very thin brushes to clean them thoroughly. It has always worried me how you clean a straw properly! I’m not too sure on how covid secure it is to touch the same scoops as everyone else but there was plenty of hand sanitizer and I really like the principle of reusing empty containers, especially as we have a lot of the plastic ones you seem to get with an Indian takeaway. Ideal on the boat and in our small freezer as they stack so neatly together.

R had been practising his accordian whilst I was out and writing a few postcards. The rain poured down and we were grateful that we hadn’t planned on moving the boat today – I thought I might have been feeling a bit ropey but actually I felt pretty normal. We went walking in the afternoon when the weather was improved and continued to be amazed at the extent of Banbury’s industrial parks and estates. There is an all pervading smell of bread, more specifically donuts, along the towpath, from a large bakery – it really made me feel very hungry! There was so much traffic out and about. I imagine the town gets pretty gridlocked frequently.

Had a lovely long telephone chat with my cousin’s husband and caught up on all the news, whilst R went off to chop wood on a nearby bench. We had a tatty blue plastic box that he used to store the wood and he couldn’t find it anywhere. There really is nowhere to lose anything! Eventually he concluded he got distracted yesterday and left it by the bench whilst returning to the boat with some larger logs. Someone must have walked off with it. Their gain!

Another Friday, another Zoom. I can’t believe how quickly Friday comes around. We chat for an hour and a half and the time speeds by, but I can’t remember half of what we talk about! It is just so nice to see friends and feel connected.

Watched a new episode of Midsomer Murders to ring the changes, all based around bees, but still got a fix of young Morse after. Then I read a sad WhatsApp from my eldest daughter, H, who is now really struggling with lockdown. As she said, who would have thought at 33 she would be all alone for a year not seeing her friends or able to build new relationships. I just feel so sad for our young people and the isolation so many of them are facing. Conversely for those in a relationship that also has its stresses as a couple is totally thrown together without the usual additional friendship groups around. That’s not age related – ask R!

Started the day responding to a comment on ‘Nextdoor F’ which isn’t something I usually do as so often people can become vitriolic about something harmlessly meant. And then it’s more like a rant site and our town already has one of those! However I thought this a rather biblical story: a lady has been putting a box of used books outside her gate all year for passersby to take a book and enjoy. She was therefore very upset and affronted when yesterday a car drew up and a lady took the whole box of books! So upset that she posted the happening on ‘Nextdoor F’. The response has been amazing! Not only have quite a few people offered to bring replacement books but the word has now spread that outside this lady’s house you can pick up a book to read and I feel many more people will benefit from her kindness. It just felt to me like the story of loaves and fishes!

D day for me – first vaccine. Have heard so many depressing stories of side effects that I have booked tomorrow as a holiday in case I am laid low and take to my bed. We couldn’t have got closer to a vaccination centre – literally a three minute walk from the boat. Downside is we have workmen banging away on both sides of the canal and drills going in the background!! We literally are moored in the midst of a construction site!! We also need the services of a laundrette and a supermarket both of which are a five minute walk from here. Immediately ahead of us is another lock, a water point and (spoiler alert- potty talk!) an Elsan and beyond that the bridge used by the local drug addicts. Seeing as we don’t want to move beyond the facilities until we are ready to leave the town, so that we can avail ourselves of them at the last minute, this mooring seems the best option.

Loaded up with a bin bag of washing each, we made our way to Superdrug and R waited outside like a bag man! The vaccination procedure was slick and quick. They have only been in operation a week so the timing for me could not have been better. Either side of me were construction workers from the big build, grateful to have to sit down for 15 mins post vaccine, in no hurry to return to work! Once done, R and I dealt with the laundry and made use of one of the many takeaways, me remembering the advice to drink a lot post vaccine. So instead of dehydrating myself with coffee I treated myself to a large fruit smoothie and a litre of Evian, knocked back in 10 minutes, and then felt a little sick! Never one to do things by halves, perhaps I should have taken my time rehydrating! The feeling  quickly past and I felt I had done my duty to my body – I struggle to drink enough water at the best of times so I thought it best if I just got on and did it before I got distracted and forgot! Back on the boat we had a big bowl of homemade soup, again with fluids in mind. I once read you can rehydrate yourself with the foods you eat, especially vegetables. I used up nearly all the veg I could find yesterday in my batch soup making and added a large spoonful of curry powder so no one vegetable dominated the flavour. The curry certainly did its job – I nearly blew our heads off and personally had to add a large dollop of yoghurt to my bowl!

I can’t think of Banbury without the nursery rhyme ‘Are you going to Banbury Cross to see a white lady on a white horse’ going through my mind. Visions of sitting on my dad’s knee bobbing up and down to the verse and then dropping nearly to the floor on the last line as his knees parted. Squeals of laughter and demands to play it again! We had to go and find ‘Banbury Cross’ and it brought back memories again of coming here with mum and dad as a child. Strange the things we remember from our dim distant past. I used to love nursery rhymes and yet it is probably 20 years since I last regularly sang them to our children.

We enjoyed wandering around Banbury,  a very eclectic large town with a diverse demographic, most notable in the many different ethnic food shops. It was market day in the lovely market square and Banbury was once renowned for its market.  Today it was depleted of stalls and people – one fruit and veg stall; a cheese stall; a small bread stall and a burger van. A lovely flower stall with reasonably priced tulips so I couldn’t resist a bunch for the boat, even though space is at a premium. The lady working in the laundrette was very down about Banbury saying how much it had changed, and not for the better. From an outsiders eyes I thought it had a lot going for it especially with all the new development around the waterside.  It’s a bit gritty which I like. It feels real. I am sure not without its problems but it’s big enough to be interesting and yet not so big that you feel lost in it. Who knows how it will survive the pandemic – you can’t help but wonder which of the shut up shops will manage to ride the storm. A lot of the town is pedestrianised so it’s ideal for wandering around, browsing the shops, enjoying a coffee and  watching the boats pass through.

We spent a quiet afternoon on the boat, although outside wasn’t quite so peaceful until 4.30 when all the workmen packed up and went home. Did my Joe Wicks routine in case I don’t feel up to much tomorrow.  Its a bit like waiting for the sword of Damacles to strike – so many stories have I now heard of adverse reactions to the vaccine that I am playing a waiting game to see what, if anything develops!

On the recommendation of my brother, we watched a true story on iplayer called ‘The boy who harnessed the wind’ and I would recommend it as a film full of hope and a reminder that those who have vision can change the world, or at least a tiny corner of it.