Category: Uncategorized

I can hardly believe it’s five months since my last narrowboat blog entry! We had hoped to be back on the water mid September but things seldom work out the way we expect and as I write we still don’t have an exact starting date for our new adventure. However an unexpected event last week has prompted an entry.

We were all set to go aboard Wharram Percy for 3 months, starting at Rickmansworth, heading down the GUC and onto the tidal Thames before entering the Kennet & Avon. Our hallway gives testament to our preparedness – everything for the boat is neatly stacked and waiting to be shipped aboard. Then a phonecall from Alex, the broker, changed our plans and we now await the boat ‘Daydream’ which won’t go anywhere until a new engine is fitted!

Alex, knowing this, then rang to ask a favour – a boat, Cal d’Or, was in the process of being moved from the Midlands to Reading in a week but the couple moving the boat had an accident and had had to leave the boat near Banbury. Could we finish moving it? This would entail us traveling on the river Thames, a first for us, and we had a lot of ground to cover in the remaining five days. Slightly complicated also by commitments we had at the weekend at our home. So basically we had about 22 hrs of travel (with extra time needed for diesel and water fillups) in 4 days. Our average hours per day are usually 4 but 6 hours are doable so we agreed. Infact the boat was moored 8hrs canal travel before Banbury. That meant there was quite a bit more time pressure than originally thought and I had to let Alex know it was highly unlikely that we would get the boat all the way to Reading in the time scale allowed. Knowing this he asked us just to do what we could.

So life in the slow lane sped up, and was complicated by getting our car in the right place to be able to go home on the Saturday for 24hrs. Sadly one of the weekend commitments got cancelled at the last minute due to Covid but the silver lining was that it gave us extra travelling time on the boat! We still went home for the night, returning on the Sunday with children in tow to help us with the locks through Oxford and then they drove our car back home.

Monday morning saw us hit the Thames early, before even the lock keeper arrived to operate the motorised pushbutton lock gates. Luckily R figured out what to do but it was a bit unnerving. The rain was lashing down and everything looked a bit scary and big! The water on the river flows much faster than on the canal and the river is a lot wider in most places. However eventually the rain stopped, the sun came out and we made very good progress. It was beautiful and serene with hardly any other traffic on the river. Our only concern was that the lack of lock keepers on the first three locks meant we had been unable to obtain a licence to travel along the Thames and we could incur a £1000 fine. Trying to get the licence over the telephone proved futile because we had no paperwork on the boat – unhelpfully when the other crew left the boat they took it with them for safe keeping! Thankfully at lock number four we met a delightful lock keeper who not only issued a licence but also told us of the best places to moor on our way into Reading – apparently once you get into Reading proper there are a lot of undesirable places to stop so it was strongly suggested that we didn’t! Suffice to say, by starting our journey every day at 8am and traveling without stopping for 8/9 hours we managed to get the boat to its final destination by Tuesday lunchtime, with a great sense of achievement. Only one or two mishaps – seeing a rowing four out on the river, I thought a picture would be fun to send to our daughter who used to be part of a rowing four. By the time I got my phone out to take the picture I had managed to head the boat in the direction of the river bank and R had quite a job to stop us getting stuck in the muddy bank, overhung with weeping willows! Then, when we were mooring up R misjudged the slope of the bank and slipped, falling quite heavily on his thigh which has left him with rather a painful bruise. There was also a challenging lock on the Kennet & Avon canal. The flow of water into the incredibly deep chamber was extremely forceful and it was only as I was attending to the lock gates I saw a sign saying that we were contending with river current and should not proceed when the current was strong. A reminder that the weather can definitely interfere with ones progress! It was a relief to arrive at The Cunning Man pub, our final destination and to enjoy one of their squash and mushroom rolls – their veggie take on a sausage roll! Coincidentally we had visited this pub two weeks earlier when viewing a secondhand narrowboat for sale, little realising we would be back so soon. The food was just as tasty as we remembered!

Needless to say the boat was in need of a clean and Alex offered to pay me £15/hour to do this. I managed two hours but by then was too tired to do anymore. At the best of times cleaning is not my strong point! However the boat didn’t look too bad by the time we left for a taxi and train ride home. Quite an adventure and to be honest a very helpful exercise for us. We now have a much greater understanding of how to handle the Thames, places to moor up and where to access the facilities. Water taps and fuel are not nearly so prolific as on the GUC. Travelling at speed when under time pressure is not relaxing and is a good reminder of why I prefer to take my time on the waterways and go slowly! We literally do want to escape the rat race and our time back home has reinforced this as we have felt our stress levels rising.

Now it is just a waiting game for our next boat. Our car has enough petrol to get us to the boat which we can then leave at the boatyard if fuel is still an issue but whichever way we turn there are a fair few locks to contend with! R’s been resting at home to regain his strength in anticipation! Meanwhile I hot footed it to Edinburgh to a small engagement celebration for our son who has just got engaged. So much for my talk of taking life slowly! However there are some things you just don’t want to miss, such as the joy of a newly engaged couple. It was worth the long train journey to be part of that joy and to see their look of surprise when I walked into the room! The train journey back gave me time to re-engage with this blog and I really hope it won’t be too long before there is something else, boat related, to write about!

My last narrowboat blog, hopefully not forever, but until we return and have something to write about! In an ideal world that will be beginning of September. So, if you have enjoyed journeying with us, as long as you have signed up to receive notifications, I imagine you will be alerted once I resume the blog.

It’s amazing how long it takes to properly clean a narrowboat! R set too with the vacuum cleaner which needed careful attention to make the suction strong enough to work. The cooker took longer than anticipated. Luckily I had done the fridge/freezer yesterday but with cleaning, the more you do the more you see and I realised how much dust had accumulated from the stove being lit daily. Cobwebs too! Anyway by one o’clock we were ready to leave the boat and amazingly every last item fitted in the car although there wasn’t much space for me and R to breathe! We had to come off the motorway at the first services so that I could be relieved of the final bag of rubbish sitting on my lap aside my rucksack of ‘important stuff’ and a freezer bag full of food. I am not looking forward to the sort out at the other end. However much I tried to pack logically, towards the end I was just pleased to jumble things together where there was an iota of space!

I was awake early, probably my mind wondering how we would fit the remaining bags in the car! The subject of ‘grace’ was still on my mind so I decided to write about it then and there and afterwards managed a couple more hours of sleep. Once up and about we had a lot to do if we wanted to be ahead of the wind and rain forecast mid morning. After the last crumpet in the packet and R finishing the loaf as toast so we could also throw the jam pot, R walked to the car, arms full of rubbish and then drove to Willoughby Bridge. Meanwhile I steered the boat towards the marina situated before the bridge. We needed to return the boat full of diesel and the boater yesterday had said this marina offered the best price. The downside was that in a wind it was tricky to enter and leave the marina, hence our desire to get there early. R met me on the towpath, having walked towards me after parking the car and so was on board as we arrived, with the wind just coming up. It was as tricky as we had been told but there was a very helpful lady who assisted us and we managed not to do any damage to surrounding boats or get the boat caught by the wind in an impossible situation. The final mooring was twenty minutes further on and so it was with a heavy heart we pulled over. Just then the phone rang and my friend, M, from home was just letting me know she had left a pint of milk and loaf of bread on our doorstep. That was such a kind and welcome phone call!

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So here we are trundling down the M1, happy to go at 60mph because it feels much faster. Once home I fear there will be no time or energy to write much more today so I think this is as good a time as any to say au revoir, until we meet again I hope on our next narrowboat adventure. So many boaters could not believe that we were going just as the weather improves and how mad were we to do this over the winter. I can only disagree and say what perfect timing infact it was. Yes, we have had to manage lockdown, but that gave us time to stay still. We didn’t have the joy of the pubs, but I got used to cooking one pot meals and as long as the cook was provided with a drink she was happy! We have cut our teeth on the canals with hardly any other boats to contend with. I realised, especially in this last couple of days when so many more boats were out and about, that actually I am not afeared of oncoming boats anymore! We have enjoyed all the encounters we have had with people and I am convinced this way of life is beneficial for mental health so there is much that we can do to offer support, with the boat as the vehicle. Oh, and the weather. Yes, at times very damp and chilly but we had the right clothes to keep us dry and warm. So no, I don’t think the timing was wrong. I’m ready to come home, but watch this space because the bug has caught hold and I may be preoccupied with a new hobby – boat design!!

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A daunting day ahead, packing up the boat after six and a half months. Wondering if everything will fit in the car and what to do if it doesn’t!

It was a glorious morning, not too chilly as we set off from our mooring at 9am. The blue sky and sun ensured we saw the leafy canal at its best. There is nothing nicer than meandering through the countryside, not a building, car, train in sight. Just the reflection on the still calm water of trees and bushes with blossom adding colour and variety. Happening upon a rustic hump backed bridge or a field full of cows or sheep. Walkers along the towpath, often with a dog at heel, a cheery smile and a passing of the time of day. Time taking on a very different tempo to time at home. When I first named my blog narrowboattlc, the tlc was a nod to ‘tender loving care’ but I thought of ‘tea, love, chat’ as another variant. Now at the end of this trip I realise what I really want ‘tlc’ to mean: ‘time to listen and chat’, with the emphasis on the time. It has been such a luxury to spend probably 80% of this adventure not tied to specific timings. Obviously when we had to attend medical appointments or Zoom calls that were at set times we had to abide by our watches, but for the most part our day has been our own to do what we want when we want. That is a luxury not to be taken for granted and if I take home one thing from this trip, I hope it will be to give myself enough time to ‘smell the roses’ as I think the saying goes! A decade ago when I first mentioned the narrowboat idea to R it was because I wanted to slow down time. I’m not really sure that is possible, especially as we get older. Today as I was packing up I came across a file of my jottings relating to various studies I had attended over the past couple of years. I thought being on the boat would be an ideal time to revisit them and make some sense out of them. I realised that I hadn’t looked at them once. I haven’t found the time! Time has, even with very little to do, gone in a flash. I haven’t even managed to write more than this blog or read as much as I thought I would. Days have just disappeared. Even when we were locked down at Berkhamsted and then Leighton Buzzard, we still were never bored or without things to do. There’s been a lot of walking, a lot of tending to our basic necessities, a lot of Zoom communication! Nearly every evening R and I have watched something together. We could have chosen to read books but that is quite solitary whereas huddled over a mobile phone has bought us closer together! Tonight was an exception to the rule – R did continue with a book as I watched the last episode of ‘Line of Duty’ (not a series he has seen at all) so as not to see a spoiler alert tomorrow! To be honest we were both fairly tired. I had spent a good few hours packing up our things whilst R then carried them to the car and packed them in as tightly as possible. Then we walked towards the next set of locks wondering whether to move the boat tonight or tomorrow. Our mind was made up by a chance conversation we had with a boater who remarked how windy tomorrow is likely to be. So returning quickly back to the boat R moved the car along the canal whilst I moved the boat. R met me on the towpath and we proceeded to do the last three locks of our trip (well R did all the hard work – I just steered!) before mooring up for the night.

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We had time for a long Zoom with our friends T and M who have been in lockdown in Ireland for over a year so will be great to see them in the flesh again one day. Meanwhile we have enjoyed some good Zoom conversations over recent months and last night was no exception. I mentioned that I would really like to turn this blog into hardcopy – an old fashioned book that we can flick through and relive memories as my memory forgets details fairly rapidly! T said she had planned to do that for me as a birthday present but inadvertently I had spoilt her surprise! She’s much more able and creative than me so I jumped at the chance to ask her to help me. I’d like to add more pictures, like the ones we have of people we have seen. Being aware of anonymity has prevented me from publishing too many faces as I don’t know who wants to be seen on a blog, but in a personal keepsake I’m hoping that’s OK. T is willing and able to help which will spur me on. I am so digitally incompetent that I have yet to turn our daughter’s wedding photo’s into hardcopy. Another job I thought I’d get done on the boat …..

Edging ever closer to the end of our trip, we made our way towards Brinkley, the same mooring we enjoyed when my step brother joined us around the firepit. Today it was the turn of R’s uncle and aunt, who before you think are a little elderly to be sitting around a firepit on May day, they are infact the same age as R. One of those family things where there is over 20 years between the oldest and youngest sibling, same parents! Aunt E was the first member of R’s family I ever met as she was living in Birmingham when R was in Coventry. Many a good Sunday lunch we enjoyed with E, S and their growing family. Just T and W when we started visiting but soon joined by P, J and C, all boys. I have never seen so many pairs of shoes in a downstairs cloakroom as I did each time we visited them over the years, gradually all getting bigger and bigger! I often think how blessed our children are to have been born into such an extended family. My dad’s sister died in infancy and my mum was an only child of older parents (maybe not by today’s standards!) so I have no first cousins. I think our children have 25! A couple of years ago we did a family trip to Croatia, all relatives of R – there were 173 of us! We were encouraged to put on an event so I arranged a drinks party for all the ‘married-ins’, which of course all the blood relatives wanted to join, but weren’t allowed! As a result of Croatia, our son G is now working for E and S’s youngest son, C, in America.

We had about two hours traveling time this morning but the first thing we did was fill the water tank and make us of the Elsan, both of which were close to where we moored last night. There were so many more boats on the canal. I really had to keep my wits about me. We just avoided coming a cropper on one corner with a boat advancing. Luckily they were very skilled and not fazed by ploughing through some weeds. R meanwhile pushed off the boat at the bow end with a pole so we managed to get around the other moored boats without any bumps! Had a lengthy telephone conversation with daughter, C and her husband, Ra, as they were on their way out of London to visit his sister. Funnily enough as we were reflecting over the past six months and whether I have achieved anything (where has the time gone!) Ra mentioned my writing and I said I felt God keeps prompting me to write on the subject of ‘grace’, which I have not yet done. Just as I said this we were passing a narrowboat and it was actually called ‘Grace’! My reluctance comes from not really understanding myself what ‘grace’ is. I am currently reading a book called ‘Vanishing Grace’, so named because the author, Philip Yancy, believes it is a word that needs more prominence. I asked Ra what his definition of God’s grace would be and he said ‘being given what you do not deserve’. And ‘mercy’ is not getting what you do deserve. I think I shall have to reflect further!

Arriving at our mooring the kind man in the boat next to where we couldn’t quite fit in, immediately offered to pull his boat along to make space for us. Sounds sensible but not everyone is so obliging! It was also a relief to moor up because there were two boats behind us and I wanted to make space for them to pass. Loads of hot water resulted in bath, hair wash and clean clothes as I set too, to do another stint of hand washing. There’s no laundrette nearby and as the sun is shining intermittently I think the clothes should dry OK. I draw the line at R’s trousers which are just a bit too cumbersome. As one pair ripped yesterday and got binned, I hope he has enough to last the next couple of days. No falling in the canal allowed!

We spoke to the couple in the boat next door. It was 40ft long and they had designed it themselves with the help of a boat builder. The man who is retired is obviously very clever with his hands because all the fittings inside have been crafted by him. It was even laid out the way I imagine a boat should be, with the cabin bed at the front so you can look out of the bow end with your morning tea! I don’t think R was as enthusiastic as me to hear all the details but it has whetted appetite further to look into owning our own boat, maybe even fitting out a Hull to our specification!

A day of not much excitement! As I look out of the boat window at the rain coming down steadily, I wonder how our last few days are going to pan out. We have been blessed by dry weather for the majority of our trip, cold certainly and even icy on occasions, but not the steady downpour we are seeing this evening. Emptying the boat in this weather could prove a little tedious!

Our day started with an early prayer Zoom call which meant we were raring to go out by 9am. However we didn’t think the cathedral would be open that early so I spent an hour flicking through magazines that I have been meaning to scrutinise before throwing them out so that they don’t return home with me. There may be a recipe, a book or film recommendation or some health advice that I want to take note of. I can’t just get rid of them in case I miss some nugget of wisdom. Infact one article I read was an excellent piece on how it felt to live alone in the pandemic. I forwarded it to my daughter H, who immediately confirmed that it was exactly as she felt. I wish I had read the article sooner. Somehow I never got around to it.

R was keen to go into town so that we wouldn’t be too late leaving Coventry, so I abandoned the magazines and we made our way to the new cathedral. I am not sure that it was open to visitors, at least at the time we arrived, but we were made welcome and told we could look around. There is a very large, extraordinary tapestry behind the high altar which I have mixed feelings about. I can’t quite make up my mind if I like it, but it certainly makes one reflect and has an impact. Apparently there are 360 different shades of green thread in the tapestry itself!

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Leaving the cathedral we made our way into the centre of the city to have coffee and R was delighted to find a Turkish coffee bar, reminiscent of a trip to Jordan where we drank thick dark coffee with sugar to reduce some of the bitterness. You have to remember to stop drinking before you get a mouthful of the coffee dregs at the bottom of the cup. We walked on to Coventry’s indoor Market and wandered around looking at the hugh variety of stalls. I remember it being much more fruit and veg orientated. Infact the first time I visited I needed to buy a large quantity of leeks to made a vat of soup. I made R walk around the market twice before I made my decision as to which leeks to buy – they were from the first stall we visited. I am surprised R didn’t do a runner then!

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Before leaving the city we had lunch at the cafe situated alongside the canal basin. R choose sausages and mash and I realised why we had a bit of a wait – they had cooked them from scratch and they were delicious accompanied by thick gravy and peas. I had a vegan roasted veg tart and a berry smoothie made with fruit juice rather than dairy and these too were tasty and all was good value for money. The staff were friendly and efficient so if ever you find yourself in Coventry, they are worth a detour.

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As it is the City of Culture for 2021 they are obviously sprucing up the city and trying to attract visitors by advertising. To this end I was particularly struck by a poem I read.

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We moored up for the night just before Hawkesbury Junction and R took the chill off the night by lighting the stove as we settled down for yet more Endeavour!

Seems like a very long day today, perhaps because we have gone back down memory lane. Coventry was where R was living shortly after we first met and so all our early courting was done here. Many a train journey I took from London to Coventry and in those days we used to jump over the metal barrier to cross the ring road, rather than use the walking bridge provided! I didn’t remember exactly where R’s flat was in relation to the canal basin. I don’t even remember the canal! Yet, we turned right out of the basin, where we had found a space to moor the boat, walked up a hill for a couple of minutes and there we were at the flat. I just about remembered it but I think we were last here 37 years ago. The canal then was not a pretty feature and I don’t remember seeing many boats. It has been lovingly bought back to life by energetic volunteers and CRT maintenance. Locals are encouraged to use the well maintained wide towpath for exercise and enjoyment. It’s a 5 and a half mile stretch back to Hawkesbury Junction and that is what we travelled down today through many a changing vista. Some lovely green trees and bushes, graffiti good and bad, rundown housing, new building works and attractive canalside dwellings. High rise buildings and industrial estates. Loads of volunteer CRT members litter picking and a few joggers and one or two fishermen. One warned me that under one of the bridges yesterday a narrowboat got entangled with a couple of supermarket trolleys that had thoughtlessly been thrown into the canal. I made sure I kept to the right hand side of each bridge, as far from the towpath as possible. There were some challenging turns, not helped by canal boats awkwardly moored.

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There were a few heavy showers to contend with but the highlight of the trip was rounding a bend and there on the towpath was a swan with her newly hatched cygnets. It was a magical moment and so unexpected amidst the builtup area that we were in. R held the boat to the side of the canal whilst I gingerly made my way back along the footpath to take some photos and a video to capture the moment. Back on the boat R was in conversation with a man who wanted to walk past the swan on the towpath but was nervous that she would take fright and launch at him. Swans have enough power in their wings to break an arm I have been told.

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Continuing to the basin, just about to pass through the last bridge I then saw a duckling with her baby chick’s. Another heartwarming sight although R was a little more impatient this time, a fact noted by our daughter. I sent her the video of the duck and all she heard was her father in the background telling me to get a move on, with her response ‘OMG dad is so unsentimental’!!

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The basin was quite full and our best bet was to moor behind two boats moored abreast of each other but on either side of the canal. First we had to turn our boat around. Then we had to skilfully reverse between the two moored boats without bashing into either one. Somehow this was accomplished. We realised, seeing the occupants returning later that both boats were at the time unoccupied ! I would not have been so anxious knowing this. You really want to avoid bumping any boat you possibly can although sometimes it is just inevitable.

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The weather was cold, wet and white, not enticing at all to make us want to leave the boat in any immediate hurry. Looking at the weather forecast, tomorrow is set to be a far sunnier day. So I made soup to warm us and then we settled down to do nothing much until patches of blue were seen in the sky and the sun occasionally peeped through the clouds. It was late afternoon when we left the boat to find R’s flat and then wander into the city centre to see the sights. The most magnificent by far being the two cathedrals, side by side. The old and the new, the bombed out and the beautiful. Yes, modern and maybe not to everyone’s taste and yet the beauty of the stained glass windows and the rebirth out of destruction. Sadly we could not go inside as the cathedral had closed for the day and the old part is surrounded by metal fences to keep everyone out. There is something very sobering about having such a reminder of WWII staring you in the face.

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There was quite a buzz in the city itself (it has been selected as the city of culture for 2021, under the banner ‘Coventry moves’) with many bars and restaurants open with outdoor seating. Some of these looked very cold indeed (you could see it on the faces of those trying to look like they were having a good time!) but one bar we had passed earlier had little sideless sheds in the forecourt with heaters in the ceiling. I had suggested to R we might go there to toast our return to Coventry. Firstoff R had to pay a visit to Wilko – yet another of our hose watertap fittings had been inadvertently left on the last tap we had used. Luckily we had a ‘Wilko’ spare to hand. R went and bought a further 2 – at £1 each that doesn’t break the bank but it gives us peace of mind!

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We enjoyed the bar, me toasting with prosecco and R a cask ale, our return to this city of our youth. It was slightly complicated ordering via the app but we are getting more adept. We opted to share a vegan chickpea curry. Turned out the whole menu was vegan but looked rather confusing as they had things like bacon and cheese on offer but I had to remind R they weren’t the bacon and cheese he was expecting! Our heater wasn’t working either! Nor were the heaters of quite a few ‘sheds’. They rectified the problem by bringing us calorgas heaters which certainly helped keep the chill out. I couldn’t but help think of the British resolve that we won’t let the weather beat us – images of chill, wet picnics come to mind and the stiff upper lip resolving that we will have a good time! Reminds me of R’s 60th birthday with his twin sister. They wanted a seaside picnic in June and decided to go to a beach 10 miles from the seaside house the family own, right on the beach! Arriving at the picnic spot the heavens opened and we endured it as long as we could with soggy sandwiches and wet bottoms. Then we returned back to the house on the beach to find there had been no rain there and we could not only have had a dry picnic but, if the weather had turned, could have been inside in double quick time!!

Back on the boat the stove soon had us toasty warm and we enjoyed, as per usual, an episode of ‘Endeavour’.

Returned back to Hawkesbury Junction from the Ashby Canal, a trip that was made longer by one or two instances. The first was due to a puff of wind and involved R losing yet another hat in the canal. I was steering, talking to his aunt, so slightly distracted. When the hat went I thought it would just sink. However, looking back I could see it had floated very near to the canal edge, so I pulled over, R jumped off the boat and with litter picker in hand, ran back along the towpath and reunited with his hat before it had time to float out of reach!

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Continuing on along the canal we made two brief stops at farm shops situated very close to the towpath, the second stop because I thought they had a cafe attached. Actually the advert was for ice cream! Still we picked up a cake to have with coffee on the boat and continued on until well after lunchtime so I suggested we moor up for a sandwich. R grabbed the midrope, jumped onto the towpath and as he tugged at the rope it caught hold of a heavy long metal bar that sits on the roof and, plop, it fell into the water. A few expletives – it’s the bar that secures the boat when no one is aboard for a period of time. Custom made, it would be tricky to replace. R started asking me if we had a magnet on board. I had no idea what he was talking about so suggested he go and look. Apparently he thought the boat might be supplied with one as they are very useful if metal objects go overboard. Accepting defeat we settled down for lunch, frustrated that the tally of items falling into the canal is steadily growing. Further along the towpath there was a very smart boat moored up so I suggested that R might like to ask them if they had a magnet we could borrow – the very affable and helpful man immediately produced a ‘Seasearcher’ which was exactly what we needed. A strong heavy magnet on the end of a rope which you sink into the water and see what it picks up. Within minutes R had located the metal bar and extracted it from the water. What joy! We thanked our neighbour profusely. He was glad to have been of service. The last time he had used it was to fish his mobile phone out of the lock. A few days in a bowl of dry rice and it worked perfectly. The only fiddly bit was trying to dislodge a grain of rice that had got wedged into the socket where the phone charger connects! We had a long conversation about buying a custom made narrowboat which he had done 20 years ago. He had washed it this morning and was painstakingly applying polish all over – I have to say it looked brand new!

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The contrast of narrowboats boats on the canal is striking, from their size to the condition that they are in. We pass quite a few stretches of longterm moorings and often there are small gardens adjacent to the boats. It can be depressing seeing piles of rubbish or accumulation of junk (not that dissimilar to how are neighbours at home must have felt before G ordered a skip!) and then sometimes what you see is just so odd, such as the boats next to ‘Charity’s Boatyard’ this afternoon where the gardens were full of strange assorted paraphernalia!

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Arriving at the Junction after a very pleasant day weather wise, none of the forecast rain appearing, we moored up next to noisy neighbours. That’s a first. Usually you hear very little noise coming from other boats. It quietened down when they went off to the pub and when they returned we braced ourselves for a late night party but actually they must have just retired to bed! Our usual evening entertainment of an episode of ‘Endeavour’, slightly late in starting because of a Zoom meeting first. And earlier, after mooring, I indulged in a very deep hot bath as we are next to a water tap! I did another bucketful of hand washing as I am trying to avoid having to use a laundrette – looking at our itinerary the closest we will be to one is a halfhour walk, so I think I shall try to eek out our clothes and arrive home with a great big pile of washing to catch up on.

Set the alarm for 8am. H and J travelling down from the North to see us for the day and threatened a 9am arrival so I wanted to get the boat looking good even though they are only allowed to peer through the windows! Oh and come inside to use the facilities.  Otherwise it was warm clothes and rainmacs  for the day with the weather not so sunny and a few showers forecast. The plan was for them to arrive early and we would travel along the canal to a winding hole, turn the boat and travel back to where they had left their car. J had asked me to send him our what3word location (app:what3words) which I did, along with a written description of where we are and place names. Unfortunately J took ‘what3words’ as gospel truth and didn’t check they corresponded with my description of where we actually are.  I didn’t check  ‘what3words’ related to where I was standing, being unfamiliar with using the app. So I had sent J our location the only other time I have used the app, a couple of months back, which happened to be bridge 76 on the GUC!! We are at bridge 35 on the Ashby Canal!! Oh dear. 1hr and a quarter later ……. at least the motorcar travels at more than 4mph. This trip is still a learning curve. Six months on the boat and we are still making rookie errors. Let us hope we learn by them. At least I still had H and J’s Christmas presents to give them, which in J’s case was gin. Think he needed it! The other amusement (because you have to try and see the funny side when something like this happens) was the what3words associated with our actual location: angry.expecting.resembles.   J  probably felt very angry at the extra journeying time but we still were expecting them and what would the remainder of our day resemble!

Infact the remainder of the day went really well. When H and J eventually made it to the boat with their puppy, in training to be J’s hearing dog, it was  lovely to see them after 10 months and catch up on news. Many a happy canal reminiscent was shared as this was the couple we shared a narrowboat with a decade ago when J was in a boot because of an injury and H and I had to walk miles to find food as not as many pubs were open as we had hoped, to give us an evening meal. The puppy is adorable and was very well behaved although he is going through a ‘nipping’ stage so I just had to watch where I put my hands! We meandered along the canal, J taking the helm for much of the first couple of hours although he didn’t much like passing boats so occasionally we would swop places so I had the responsibility of avoiding them! In wide stretches it’s not a problem but so often, having not passed a boat in a long while, you meet one at the tightest corner or narrowest point. The weather was fairly mild but as the day drew on got wetter. Luckily we all had jumpers and waterproofs to keep off the chill and this is afterall England! The forecast for the remainder of our trip is wet near to where we are so we will be getting our moneys worth from our comprehensive wet weather clothing. As long as the sun occasionally breaks through, that’s fine.

The puppy needed a walk and a pee so J and R jumped off the boat a couple of bridges before the winding hole to also stretch their legs. Agreeing to meet at the turning circle H and I continued on the boat but rather surprisingly arrived before the men, who had been slowed down by the puppy. I decided to have a go at turning the boat, a skill that I haven’t tried without R to guide me so I was fully expecting trouble. For some reason it was remarkably easy to do and I felt quite shocked. Of course there was no wind, it was plenty wide enough and there were no onlookers to make me feel self conscious. It may be a one-off but it is a necessary skill to have as at some point a boat needs turning! Unless of course you can find a totally circular route, such as the one we undertook a decade ago.

I am so glad I had made a hot chilli yesterday which we could all enjoy and it helped to keep us warm. It also meant that when we arrived back at where the car was parked H and J and the puppy could go straight home. I am sure J will have appreciated the return journey time of 1.5hrs rather than the 4hrs of the morning, especially as we had not realised by now it was after 6 o’clock. Such is the joy of the boating life – when it is light you can lose all track of time.

R had a 41 Club Zoom where the speaker talked about living with Parkinson’s. Meanwhile I caught up on the last couple of episodes of ‘Line of Duty’ so that I won’t be behind for the last episode. There’s bound to be a spoiler once it’s over so I plan to watch it asap!

We’ve had a few fun happenings today! First off R managed to lose what we call a ‘nappypin’ – it’s a metal pin that inserts into the canalside aramco steel sheeting enabling us to thread through a rope and moor the boat. We usually use chains but not this time. I think it slipped out of his hand when he tried to remove the pin from the sheeting. We only travelled for less than an hour before reaching the boaters services where we moored up to empty the cassette and fill the water tank. I suggested to R that first I wash my hair, then I do some more hand washing and once I had thoroughly rinsed everything he filled the tank. By then it was 11 o’clock and time for ‘Baby Breathe’. 50 yards from the boat was a lovely canalside cafe and a narrowboat serving drinks and icecreams. R went to investigate and I started my Zoom call. A boat passed us which I thought nothing of, but the reception in the boat was poor so I went outside to see if it improved. I found us almost straddling the canal – when the boat had passed it rocked us and loosened our mooring rope. When filling for water we just tend to use the midrope at the mooring bollard – this came loose and we floated away! Hurriedly I went from bow to stern, started up the engine and returned us to the edge just as R returned. I left him to tie the boat up and returned to my call. Once it was over we decided to have lunch in the cafe. We were near enough to the boat to see if anyone came along wanting to use the facilities in which case we would move (which, by the way, were excellent – not only did the CRT provide toilets, which were spotlessly clean, they also provided showers!). Seating ourselves on a vacant table, sitting in the sun was glorious. However there only appeared to be a couple of waitresses, who were having to sanitise tables and benches as well as take food orders, so I did wonder how long we would have to wait. I spent the time fantasising about which ice cream flavour I would have for dessert and whether I would push the boat out and have two scoops rather than one. I could see the lovely biscuit cornets half covered with dark chocolate and was getting very excited! Eventually a waitress appeared, very apologetic for the wait and took our order. R in addition to fish goujons in a cob (posh way of saying fish fingers in a bun!) ordered a ‘dressed’ side salad and triple cooked chips. Meanwhile I had couscous with mediterranean vegetables. The food was surprisingly quick to arrive and I have to say, was absolutely delicious! Especially the triple cooked chips. The side salad did not disappoint – plenty of spinach and rocket leaves with sundried tomatoes, radishes etc. Sometimes side salads can be so predictable and dull (I sound just like my mother!).

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We tucked in and were really enjoying the food (thankfully I had nearly finished) when a couple approached us, asking if that was our boat that had drifted to the opposite side of the canal? They had recognised us as we passed their boat earlier in the day. We thanked them profusely – although from where we were sitting we could see Wind Rose, we couldn’t really see it’s angle so had failed to notice it had moved! I took the key and headed to the opposite towpath and then saw my problem. Although on the opposite side of the towpath, the boat was prevented from going close to the edge because of the weeds. Short of striding into the canal I could not reach it! As I was trying to assess my alternatives, in the distance I saw a boat coming towards me. If that boat could grab hold of our midrope and throw it to me I could sort our problem. Infact the skipper had a much better idea. Thankfully his boat had a bow thruster which gave him additional steerage. He suggested I returned to the opposite towpath where he would pick me up and reverse me to WR! R by now had finished his lunch so we both hitched a lift on the bow of this kind man’s boat, got aboard and headed off, too embarrassed to return to the cafe mooring to pick up my longed for ice cream. Lesson learned – moor up securely if you leave the boat for the shortest amount of time!

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We only went a short distance along the canal when I suggested we moor up near a glass and pottery studio. Bad idea. The mud was thick and we could not get close to the edge. In addition another boat behind us was getting into difficulties trying to turn around. It was a day boat, much shorter than ours with 4 elderly novice boaters aboard. They had to about turn to get their boat back before the hire period ran out. We suggested they go further along to a wider part of the canal in order to safely turn, which they did. Meanwhile we moored, a foot away from the side, and left the boat to see if there were better moorings ahead, which there were. There was also a farm shop selling ice cream so I bought a tub of chunky chocolate – it was delicious. It also sold good quality meat so we bought some of that. We did have a long wait. When we arrived another couple was already waiting for the farmer to arrive, who could operate the contact less payment as the man in the shop only knew how to take cash payments. Eventually a tractor pulled up transporting the farmer and then we had another wait as he didn’t really know how to work the contact less payments either – it was a system installed by his son at the start of lockdown! However it was cheering to know how much business this small farm shop has procured over the past 15 months. They supply all sorts of groceries, enabling the locals to avoid the supermarkets if they so wish. We returned to move the boat and I found R had used another nappy pin. Unaccustomed as I am to them I pushed it down rather than pulled it up and so we lost our second nappy pin of the day! We did then moor much more successfully although another boat nearby didn’t seem pleased to have his patch invaded. He was running a generator that R thought might go continuously all night. Fortunately he turned it off about 7.30pm! A couple of ladies were sitting on a bench by the boat (the Ashby canal has a plethora of benches, all enscribed, so I presume they are in memory of someone who has died) so I offered them a cuppa. As they had just had one, they declined, but one of them had pulled a muscle and was not sure she could continue walking back to the car. We chatted for ten minutes and they set off but knew, if needed, the injured lady could wait with us whilst her friend fetched the car. We haven’t seen them so hopefully all is well.

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This really is the most lovely stretch of the canal network, so much green to be seen with open fields and cattle grazing. It leads to a feeling of peace and quiet enjoyment. There are a surprising number of walkers, who are friendly and chatty and some show quite an interest in the narrowboat way of life. The man on the boat next to us who has travelled nearly the entire network tells me that this is one of his favourite stretches. I can see why. We had decided to stay in this mooring for one more night so we had a very chilled Sunday, walking into the village after Zoom church, in the hopes of finding a Sunday roast. That was not to be but I enjoyed a double sherry which made me realise R’s idea of a double sherry is markedly different to a pub measure! Before setting off we did receive rather an unusual phone call from Surrey police. They had been contacted by the Warwickshire police who had come across an abandoned car in one of their local carparks, registered in my name. They were concerned for my safety. After explaining that R had left it in this particular carpark because there appeared to be no time restrictions and that we would pick it up next weekend, the policeman was reassured and said he would pass the message on. I have to say I was quite impressed by the care and concern. It is a bit of an issue as to where one can safely leave a car whilst travelling the network, which is why for the majority of our trip, the car stayed at home. However we need to load it up to take everything home so it made sense for R to return by car this time.

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A walk around the small village led us to a new cemetery that has only been there since, I think, 2010. There were not many graves although sadly quite a few recent ones.

Returning to the boat, the boat next to us had left so we decided to move our boat along a bit, I can’t quite remember our reasons but then a boat came behind us. Then the boat that had left returned and could only fit behind us if we moved our boat further forward. It was all a bit of a tarrafiddle but we eventually settled down to enjoy yet another tranquil evening. Sunday evening Zoom church, 2 Zoom calls and an episode of Endeavour tired me out so again I was asleep long before R came to bed!