Author: Mary

I had a general tidy up, vacuumed the floor, wet washed it and got rid of all the mud and we looked like we were on a new boat – ‘A place for everything and everything in its place’ as my mother used to say! Even R commented on the difference. Before we could muddy it up again we decided to enter the Marina which involved R operating a swing bridge whilst I had to single handedly manoeuvre the boat into its specified mooring. It would have been sensible of me to have the boat pole to hand, which helps to push off the side or other vessels but it was a case of being wise after the event as I sat in the middle of a marina almost chocfull of boats wondering how I was going to reverse into our allocated space without bumping the very expensive looking adjacent wide beams, some of whom had people in! This boat has no steerage in reverse so it was on a wing and a prayer that I eventually managed to squeeze into our mooring and by then R was at hand to secure us.

A welcome visit from G&M meant the arrival of some Christmas decorations which have certainly cheered the boat. They were en route to the family house in Suffolk with an ex demo Range cooker which I first spied in a kitchen shop near home. Little did I imagine 3 months later I would have persuaded the purse strings that it would be perfect to replace the, in my opinion, substandard cooker I had been using to cook on for a dozen or so people every summer for the past few years!

Such a treat to have electricity (although it took a deal of time to sort out the logistics as we had to set up an electricity account!) with the knowledge we won’t run out of phone battery. Celebrated by playing 2 hours of online bridge with some good friends!

Time to move on and say goodbye to our fellow canal men. The friendly yorkshire man who has a chainsaw on his boat had cut up some wood and left it for us so R nipped to B&Q and bought a hatchet as the logs are still a bit big. The street entertainer in the wide beam is hoping to resume work in April, so look out for a man with three papercups and a rubberball in Covent Garden! Enough to make the mind boggle!

It is getting a little nippy so after dressing I went back under the duvet and as I gradually emerged started wrapping Christmas presents. I had to send a secret santa present to my Japanese nephew in law. Having found that he has a sweet tooth and also has a new motorbike I purchased some suitable gifts that then cost £22 to post!! No doubt they will also be hit by an import duty on arrival! Christmas is fast approaching which feels strange on our boat as we have no decorations to remind us. I thought our house would remain rather sad and sober but I didn’t reckon on son G and girlfriend M, who have discovered my stash of Christmas decorations in the loft and have set too. Sending through the picture of the Lladro Nativity scene was a joy – I bought it in the German ‘naafi’ when my brother in law was in the army (think it cost £70) so it has been on display for over 40 Christmases!

Fortuitously as we were about to set off another boat passed us and agreed to wait at the next lock so we could work the lock together. I had great fun in a stretch of canal, with no other boats in sight, seeing how fast I could go so that I wouldn’t keep the first boat waiting! They were a lovely couple who for over a decade have lived aboard their boat due to straightened circumstances. I didn’t get the feeling they would necessarily have chosen this way of life but they certainly were making the best of it. She knits and sews, they have no computer, just an old DVD player and I got the impression he spent a lot of time fixing technical boat problems. It humbled me to think we are doing this canal lark by choice and have a backstop! Some are not so fortunate. Unusually for this day and age he was puffing away on a pipe which made me nostalgic for my dad. When we were sorting through mum’s possessions in October we came across many of dad’s old pipes and it was like an end of an era disposing of them! It felt very final.

Arriving at Apsley, only an hour after we set out (spoiler alert – more toilet talk!) I had the unpleasant ‘potty’ duty whilst R filled up with water. There’s a great relief knowing the toilet cassettes are all clean and we have two weeks worth of facilities! Infact we are elongating this by checking in for three nights to the Apsley Marina. Our equivalent of a minibreak! At our disposal we will have toilets, showers washing machine, hooked up electricity and water. And a mudfree zone outside the boat! R even bought a small fan heater that we can put on first thing in the morning to take the damp chill away. What luxury! Opposite us is a pub with a marquee so anyone wanting to visit us for a walk and talk is more than welcome as we are allowed in to the pub for tea and coffee (and only need to purchase food if wanting alcohol).

R has finished his accordian practice and another episode of Vera beckons. Intermittently the fire alarm sounds – i think we are a bit smoky tonight. We certainly are roasting hot! Can’t complain as better than cold and damp.

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Happy birthday daughter Holly. Who would have thought 33 years ago that I would be celebrating on a narrowboat. Funnily enough our best man and his wife came to stay with us on the night of the 5th Dec 1987 because not only was his wife celebrating her birthday on the 6th but they were going to a party on a narrowboat near to our house, so somewhere on the GUC, where we have just travelled! Small world. It goes around in circles.

We went to church first time in a long time and I am still wondering if I felt any better for it. Which got me thinking about the purpose of church. It probably isn’t for me to feel ‘better’ but rather to spend some time with God, to thank him, worship Him and to ask for forgiveness for those things I keep doing wrong in the hopes I can do better and will try harder! However what I found frustrating was not being able to sing, not seeing the expressions on people’s faces (especially as we didn’t know any of them!) and sitting in comparitive isolation. And then only being able to chat outside in the cold with no hot coffee! The positives of the church community, showing practical love and support, in the time of covid, is immeasurable. I love the slogan ‘The church doors may be closed but the church is open.’ A timely reminder that we the church are alive and kicking, not confined to the constraints of a building!

R reflected we spent as long in the EE shop as we did in church! At least we were warm and dry. R’s phone battery has just about given up the ghost as the expression goes. As I use a phone far more than R we have developed this system that he inherits my phone (I can also instruct him on how to use it!) and I get the upgrade! So yesterday became D day for the upgrade and is the reason my blog didn’t get a look in. I must have spent most of the rest of the day sorting the phones. It was frustrating, maddening and then exhilarating as I realised I had managed to successfully set up both our phones swopping numbers, apps etc etc. To top it all off we watched (on recommendation) the first episode of ‘Vera’, a female northumbrian sleuth. Luckily R enjoyed it as much as me because we have 10 series to slog through!!

Having been wide awake in the night, we had a slow start to Saturday, including an undercooked boiled egg for R that I ended up scrambling. Waste not, want not! We then walked along the very muddy towpath to Apsley to suss out our next mooring, near to a water tap. We passed Jules Fuels and after a conversation that made us realise we wouldn’t see them again until early January, we upped our order of coal and kindling arriving tomorrow. A top up also of diesel will ensure that we don’t run out of heating. So many things to think about as we realise the weather is getting colder and damper. I wonder how long before we crack!

We were cheered to see the lovely Calzone restaurant in Apsley is back in action and booked in for an early supper. We then walked back to the boat via the pavements which was a deal less muddy. I did some computer work whilst R chopped wood and met our neighbours. One of them, a delightful yorkshire man, had a vespa scooter at the back of his boat that had taken him as far as India,en route to Vietnam. Sadly he didn’t make it all the way due to a road traffic accident.

R was amused to see that the helm of a neighbouring boat had been encased by the bodywork of a VW people mover!

We were amazed by the amount of traffic on the roads today, a constant traffic jam. Perhaps unsurprising as we hurtle towards Christmas. I love the way beauty and urban development sit side by side as shown in today’s photos.

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Did not have the best night’s sleep. The boat kept knocking against the towpath in an alarming way but both R and I too tired to want to investigate outside in the wee dark hours. Once daylight came I looked out the window to check we were not straddled across the canal and reassured, managed to get some shut eye. Think the problem was that the mooring ropes had loosened and so the boat was prone to more movement.

Having said that, a boat passed us at an alarming speed just as we were going to the Fisheries cafe. It then stopped to operate the lock and I mentioned to the young men on the boat that some boaters may bad mouth them passing them at such a speed. It really rocks the boat! They were very apologetic, saying they were new to boating, so R helped them with the lock procedure. I mentioned the bacon butties were renowned at the cafe and one of the guys promptly ordered 6. As only 5 of the guys wanted a buttie R was offered the 6th as a thank you gesture.

The cafe is well worth a visit if you happen to be in Hemel Hempstead. I can particularly recommend the coffee. R and I sat in the heated outside marquee charged our Powerbank and listened to the chatter. There was a young mum with a toddler and baby who was born a week before the first lockdown so her partner was able to be with her at the birth. He promptly contacted Covid so she had a newborn, a toddler and a sick partner to boot. She’s still smiling! Then an older lady with a full sized standard poodle and airedale cross (by her guessing) whose previous owner has had to go into a hospice, so I am sure she is reassured that her dog has found a loving home.

Walking towards the town centre we passed a chemist advertising free flu jabs for the over 50s so we popped in and got vaccinated by a very chatty and kind pharmacist. We walked on towards the canal to find a new mooring closer to Apsley, where we are headed eventually for ‘essential services’. Found an ideal spot, right next to the street entertainer we met a few weeks ago with the two widebirths. He’s hoping a lady coming tomorrow may be keen to buy one of them.

Back to the boat, we then left our mooring and went to pastures new, delighted to find we are close to a church, the town centre, Aldi and a farm shop with a cafe and pizza oven! Before leaving we gave the boat a spruce up as Holly (daughter) wanted to see some internal pictures and I didn’t want her to think we had become too slovenly!

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