Category: Uncategorized

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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Well there really isn’t much to report today except am I glad I did my laundry and shopping yesterday! From the moment I awoke to the rain it stayed that way most of the day, as it probably did throughout the country! No cup of tea with the fisherman. The towpath was almost one big puddle! However I did venture forth at lunch to the open air cafe across the bridge, which has put up a small marquee with heaters so I was able to enjoy garlic mushrooms on sourdough. When I heard R had had a full breakfast at The Gorge I thought I could treat myself!

Back on the boat, in the dry, R arrived back and we got the stove going so all snug and warm, awaiting the predicted snow tomorrow! He wants you to know he’s the last of the big spenders – Minstrels and a peanut butter Kitkat. What more could a girl want!

No sooner had I waved goodbye to R, who has gone home for the night, but I got myself a date with a fisherman! Google, fount of all knowledge, found me a local wishy washy (chore for the day) and as I set off I chatted to a fisherman on the bank and offered him tea on my return. As I missed a road turning, I walked twice as far ending up luckily at another laundrette. By the time I returned, nearly 3 hours later (and all I did was one load of washing!) the fisherman was packing up to go so we made a date for tomorrow instead! Funnily enough when I went to look for the laundrette I should have gone to it had been replaced with a fast food joint! So I had happened upon the nearest one to the boat. The manageress was very chatty and it was sobering to hear how many dry cleaners and laundrettes have gone out of business. So much of their trade has dried up. She was telling me one of her biggest customers was a guy who owned a fancy dress shop. No parties, no fancy dress, so he’s out of business and subsequently her takings are down. Enterprisingly, rather than go under she is reducing her overheads by only opening 4 days a week and as there are plenty of machines this isn’t a problem for her customers so hopefully she’ll weather the storm.

Looking through my emails I found a reply from CRT re the Elsan saga. They tell me in response to my complaint they have fixed the Elsan today. Result! I hope it’s true as we are no longer there to find out!

Being alone and knowing how much R hates shopping I decided the afternoon was a great opportunity to explore Hemel Hempstead town centre and maybe indulge in some Christmas shopping. I set out blithly not knowing where I was but soon got directions and after half an hour the first shop sign appeared:

For those of you who know me well this is just one of my favourite shops because looking carefully you can find treasure! And today was no exception. Infact as they were restricting numbers it was very empty of shoppers and full of bargains! One of my favourites turned out to be a shortish elasticated warm skirt, perfect over leggings, for £8! Let me tell you on a boat it is not about style but warmth. Arriving home I put the skirt on top of my thermals and trousers and the extra layer has kept me warm enough not to need the central heating! Obviously, not knowing who may read this, I cannot divulge what I bought on the present front! Suffice to say, I filled my backpack, a reusable shopping bag and as I had purchased a plastic container for the boat, I filled that and walked home like a packhorse! Majority of Christmas shopping now ticked off!

Blessed with another stunning day,  clear blue sky and sun, but rather cold, as we found our way to Aldi to stock up on fresh provisions. Receipt noticeably lower than Waitrose but no free paper to then use as a floor covering to help keep the mud at bay! What an array of gin – obviously it is still a marketeer’s dream product with more adventurous flavours appearing. I do rate their dark chocolate too – a small bar of sour cherry and chilli just hits the spot.

Back on the boat, after collecting R’s train ticket home, we met on the towpath a man with a saw in his rucksack, just like R’s! So we fell to talking as he was very happy to chat – he says he has found the nearer you to get to London the less friendly people are. He’s trying to work out the best places to moor on a regular basis as he needs to get into London to visit his young daughter. He’s been on a boat since August so almost as green as we are about boating! And of course we got to talking about the potty problems – he told me the next Elsen along is as bad as the one we have just left! I was able to give him Warren the pumpout man’s telephone number which cheered him but I have to say I am not impressed with the CRT and their handling of the waste product problem. I am on the warpath and sent them my first ‘disgusted of Farnham’ email, hinting that we shall stop our monetary support of their organisation unless they pull their finger out and improve the sanitation conditions for boaters. Oh dear. Don’t think R thinks I should wade in all guns blazing!

Have had my first lesson on how to get the stove going which is a bit of a necessity for when I am home alone. Lighting fires has never been my strong point so may find myself tucked up in bed very early when R’s not here!How difficult can it be I can hear some of you exclaim? Well, I have lived in a house for 30 years with a stove and two open fires and not once have I successfully managed to get one going. There are definitely blue and pink jobs in our house (sorry to sound so un-pc) and fires very much fall into the blue category!

Just to finish on a high note, last night we really enjoyed watching Military Wives on Amazon Prime – a real feelgood film inspired by true events (that was after an aborted attempt to watch a film called ‘Unfaithful ‘ with Richard Gere – you could tell it was all going to end badly just from the title so we didn’t last long but then watched the last ten minutes just to see how bad it got and it did!).

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The rain has just started to pitter patter on the boat roof but I have just had a bath and hair wash and have no intention of venturing forth again today. To be honest I feel exhausted – the result of our first real exercise in a month!

We decided to leave Berko this morning and head down to Hemel Hempstead where R will easily be able to catch a train home for his follow up vv appointment, pop in to see his mum and pick up the post. We are allowed to move the boat in lockdown to ‘essential services’ and alternative ones are now necessary as the ones we were near in Berko became almost impossible to use. Firstly the wide boat (mentioned in a previous blog) still has not moved after a week, even though legally he should not moor on a water point. The double narrowboat is still opposite him so reversing back to our original space was going to be tricky. It was difficult enough just to get our boat near to the watertap without causing an obstruction. Then the Elsen (potty talk). I took a picture (be thankful I am not blogging it!) of the state it is in and plan to contact the Canal Trust as I think it is disgraceful that they do not make the functioning of the Elsens a top priority along the canal. I am sure they could be classified a health hazard and as it is they are few and far between, so when 30% of them don’t appear to work it’s a very sorry picture.

So 7 heavy old locks later and a swing bridge (great fun – you stop all the traffic!) both R and I can hardly speak. We did half each and walked between each one so it was quite a workout. As the locks were filling I also decided to do some Joe Wicks exercises just to help the time to pass. Seeing a lock fill is like watching a kettle never boil! We were so excited to moor opposite the Fishers Wharf cafe where we had on a previous walk had delicious coffee and cake. This time on the recommendation of a boater we had just passed R was going to go for the sausage and bacon butty – a well earned treat. Sadly since the first lockdown it is closed Mon to Wed so we’re going to have to be patient! Meanwhile I gave him leftover cauliflower cheese transformed into a soup – a poor substitute.

I can’t let today pass without a reference to my Scottish heritage and the sadness I feel at the absence of any Scottish dancing – St Andrew’s is a key date in my diary and not many years have passed without the fun of a reel or two with friends. I even gave instructions for an Eightsome reel in Shanghai at an ex-pats St Andrew’s dinner a few years ago and when the music finished quite a few bars too early the band told me that was all they were playing. I dont think they realised the Eightsome reel is a longer dance than most thus requiring more music! How amazing it will be when we can all enjoy dancing together again! Whoever would have thought holding a hand would turn into a health hazard.

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Warren the pumpout man chugged by unexpectedly – luckily R was on the ball and caught his attention as we had need of his services. I also wanted to check he operated south of Berko for when we move on. He seemed in no hurry so I gave him a coffee and he told us how he ended up with his, to say the least, unusual and unique occupation. Over the years he has done many things but a few years ago fell in love with a boater so ended up living on the canals. He saw a niche market in dealing with human waste and went for it! I, for one am grateful as I am sure are many other boaters!

RR then arrived to look at our leak, sent by James who is still under the weather. RR had an Aqua Vac with which he quickly and efficiently extracted approximately 200l of water from underneath the floorboards. No wonder the boat was listing and I was in danger of falling out of bed closely followed by R – it wasn’t our imagination that the boat has been on the tilt! That’s the good news. Unfortunately he could find no cause for the leak, although that could be good news if the problem rights itself. All to do with water being pumped under pressure even when the taps aren’t turned on thus increasing the likelihood of a leak. We now have to keep the electric water pumps turned off when not using water and mop out the shallow well at the back where the water collects. Eventually this should dry up, the pumps can then be left on and we hope the boat stays dry with no further listing.

What was really interesting was hearing RR’s story. He used to live North but came south to be near his granny who needed help. He married and had a daughter but sadly this ended in divorce. Wanting to ensure his daughter still had a nice home he walked away with nothing, only to see his ex wife sell immediately sell the family home and downsize. Meanwhile he now lives on a 38ft narrowboat, seeing his daughter twice a month. HZe is keen to be a more hands on dad but that involves him buying a bigger boat so his daughter can stay over. The only affordable option is to buy a boat in need of refurbishment and on top of his fulltime job, make all the necessary improvements. Again and again as I hear these stories of what a parent is prepared to do to help their child I am humbled, realising what a steep hill many have to climb.

As we have decided to move on tomorrow it is farewell to Berko and I have to say I feel rather sad as I have grown fond of our mooring and the people around. Our new neighbours who R chatted to yesterday were sitting on the stern of their boat as we passed by so we fell into conversation as I was impressed to see them sitting outside with a glass of wine when it was quite chilly. This was normal for them as they like to watch the world go by. They moved onto their boat 10 years ago and said they have never looked back, much preferring it to their London existence of a flat in Notting Hill.

We were on our way to the allotment to see if we could find Clive and thank him for his kindness to us and say goodbye. Infact we found him outside his house repairing something. Half an hour later with darkness descending we left armed with another bottle of apple juice and in the knowledge that should we return to Berko we will be welcomed with a cup of tea, even venturing into his house, should that kind of behaviour ever become the normal!

We ended the day joining a Zoom advent evensong at St Andrew’s, our home church. For them it was the culmination of a day of prayer physically in the church, where individuals, or bubbles had a 45mins time slot to pray for all that is going on in the world. Listening to the first advent carol was like a soft light illuminating a dark path with the promise of something wonderful at the end of it. As we move into the season of advent and come to the end of our second lockdown I am sure we are all praying for better days to come where normal human interaction is possible and families and friends can once again be together.

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A friend of a friend in Berko very kindly charged our power banks overnight which we collected late morning after looking round the more expansive Berko Saturday market. There was a lovely cheese stall, meat, fish, veg – all you need to enable your supermarket shop to be very occasional, which might explain why the market was very busy for a Saturday in lockdown! An eminently sensible way to shop really – outdoors and relatively easy to maintain a social distance. Not so fun in the rain but the weather was kind and the slightly Christmassy atmosphere seemed to cheer everyone around. Lots of takeaway beverages – you can tell the popular coffee shops by the length of the pavement queues and the overflowing bins full of disposable cups! It’s good though to see people helping to keep fragile businesses afloat.

I had a call out of the blue yesterday from a friend of about 50 years standing (we obviously met in childhood!) who has been reading my blog as it appears and just wanted me to know it brought a smile to her face. It warmed the cockles of my heart. You realise, once you start writing, that it’s a fairly solitary and time consuming occupation, that also leaves you exposed as you open up about what’s actually going on in your head. To know that someone can relate to it is very affirming. That doesn’t mean they have to agree with what you are saying. The older I get the more I realise life is a rich tapestry of colour made up by each and everyone of us and our individual unique contribution to the world we are part of. K, my friend, mentioned radiators and drains – a brilliant description of those who radiate out energy and those who drain it from other people. I know I’d rather be a radiator giving off warmth and love but we all have our drain days. That’s life!

First morning we have woken to a frost. Beautiful but freezing so my solution now is not to get out of bed until at least 0930! Although today we were up at 8am for our weekly prayers with our Filling Station team. It helps to still feel connected and there is something comforting about the regularity of our meeting and praying, especially in these unprecedented times. We pray about all sorts of issues from national to local and personal, both friends and family.

Weekly trip to clean our clothes got me thinking how expensive it is for those who have no choice but to use the laundrette. One large load washed and dried is £10 – over £500 pa if you just go weekly! We will miss the cheery face of the manager – R wants to leave Birko before our next laundry date. Just as the shops open. I think he’s going on purpose as the shops look far too tempting. Imagine a whole month of window shopping and then not having free rein!

Found a coffee shop selling turmeric lattes – like marmite you either love em or hate em. Good thing we didn’t discover them earlier in lockdown as it was an exorbitant price but worth every penny! En route home we chatted to a boater going towards Tring, away from the crowds for a Christmas on his own. He usually spends it with his elderly mum but both think it too risky so are content to be apart, but it sounded rather sad. Then we passed the Rising Sun pub just as one of the owner’s, Nigel, was coming on to the towpath. Our friend Ben Boat Train, had recommended the RS to us but sadly for us it was too full to enter the night before the second lockdown began, so we only know it by reputation. Nigel recalls serving BBT and was chuffed that his was the main pub in Berko Ben had rated! It’s a sorry time for pubs like the RS (known in the trade as wet-leg pubs because they only serve bar snacks) as they can’t reopen unless they start serving substantial meals. A cornish pasty only becomes substantial if served with chips, or a salad. So you can’t just have a pasty – not sure what that’s going to do for the obesity crisis! Nigel told us canal-side pubs usually collect the bulk of their takings in the summer months thus enabling them to survive the leaner winter months. However this year lockdown 1 seriously depleted their takings. Now they can’t reopen until possibly March so he was feeling rather deflated about his prospects. He has over 60 different gins so R asked if that included his favourite, Jensen. Nigel went into the pub and came out with the tail end of a bottle and gave it to R refusing any payment. It reminded us of the widow’s mite. We’ve promised to visit his pub should we return in less restricted times and meanwhile we are more than happy to extol his hostelry on our blog!

Back at the boat we had a visitor on the towpath – Clive with the offer of a generator! He had taken our lack of power to heart and done something about it which was very thoughtful – going the extra mile. Then my regular weekly Zoom with a handful of very good friends cheered me further, all topped off with a delicious burger from The Meating Place. A treat before we leave, as this restaurant came highly recommended – well worth a visit should you ever be in Berko and fancy a burger!

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