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I am a numpty but I suppose you could say I was just trying out our boat security! The saga began on Wednesday when our lovely engineer Martin agreed to go to our boat ahead of us and try to sort the idling engine. I had told him, exactly I thought, where I had hidden a key for him to gain access but obviously not clearly enough. At least he was able to WhatsApp me and via the video link we could locate it! Then the real problem occurred – where was the engine key? In my desire to make sure no intruder could start the boat even if they managed to enter it, I hid all the keys somewhere, but could I remember where?! Martin literally went through everything, even as he said, my knicker drawer, in his quest to locate the missing keys. Eventually he had to admit defeat but, on the upside, it was good to know they were so well hidden. When I walked into the boat I immediately located them, but how annoying that my mind had been a total blank up until that point. The invoice for ‘hunt the key’ has yet to be raised but as you can imagine, R is not best pleased and we still have our engine issue! This afternoon was the earliest date Martin could return so yesterday we spent another day twiddling our thumbs. To be fair, son P didn’t appear until last night to take our car home, so it is unlikely we would have moved the boat any great distance, as we would have had to move the car along with us, which is always slightly troublesome. As it was, we made good use of the day. There’s a constant list of ‘things to do’ on the maintenance front,  so R replaced some tiles that had dislodged themselves from behind the stove and I managed to submit two pieces of writing for a  couple of canal magazines. Only one slight hiccough when we decided to moor slightly nearer to the pub – where had I hidden the tiller handle?  R’s patience rightly ran a little thin,  but fortunately I did remember where I’d placed it – it had just rolled a little further out of sight! R did manage to drop his glasses into the canal – they fell off his nose as he was attending to something on the stern. Sadly we couldn’t locate them with the magnet we have on board for such emergencies and ended up having to go to Banbury to buy some more reading glasses.

I tried out the oven both for supper and then this morning I cooked up some Jusrol ‘pain au chocolat’ from the tin – didn’t realise they were still in existence but I’d bought them in honour of having a guest on board and we also had our friend K to breakfast, the lady with the boat we’ve nicknamed the ‘long carrot’ owing to it being 70ft and bright orange. K and P talked music and we listened to some of their compositions and a song by daughter H. All very lovely, sitting in the sunshine on the stern of the boat.  I had to do a quick repair job on the strap of P’s rucksack – not easy with a small needle and cheap thread!  P is off to Milan for the weekend, but the friend he was going with had to cancel yesterday due to work commitments so P asked another friend, N if he’d like to go. N couldn’t afford it but his boss, on hearing this, said he’d pay for the trip if N beat him at a game of pool, which he did!

P also suggested we watch Minamata, a film based on true events about a chemical plant in Japan that emptied its toxic waste into the bay resulting in the local inhabitants getting mercury poisoning. It was a sobering film but worth watching. The three of us managed to squeeze onto our 5ft wide bed in order to view the screen at its foot with the projector balanced precariously on R’s stomach, going in and out of focus whenever he moved. Luckily son P is more savvy than us and showed us how to turn off the auto focus function and also suggested the projector would fit on the small shelf behind our heads, thus making the screening far less precarious and the film experience all the more enjoyable!

It’s been quite a week and most of it away from the boat. A couple of months ago I posted on our road WhatsApp “would anyone like a street party” and the resounding affirmative meant I needed to go home for the weekend. Not that I had much to do. The road rallied around and despite the wet weather we had a blast of a time. Scheduled for 4-6pm, it was still in full swing as darkness descended, a slight  problem as we hadn’t organised any lighting. Our last organised street party had been 20 years ago for the Golden jubilee and it amazed me how many of the same residents still live in the road. The atmosphere was just lovely and it was great to see a wide range of ages participating, especially a clutch of teenagers. We even had a live band perform a couple of songs. I discovered on arrival home that young son P had formed a band which practices regularly to the delight of the neighbours – I thought it might be politic to introduce themselves properly! They were well received and the singer had a particularly good voice. Lots of delicious food and the wine flowed. More importantly, new friendships were made. Due to covid many of the newer neighbours hadn’t really had a chance to integrate and get to know one another. Such a joy to be part of a friendly supportive neighbourhood.

I had left the boat on Friday, not the easiest day to use public transport, being a bank holiday. One of the lovely chaps I’d gone to the  pub quiz with on Wednesday kindly offered to collect me in his car and drive me to Banbury. Then on arrival home, a friend offered to pick me up from the train station as R was otherwise engaged. Such kindness both ends took the stress out of my journey and even the trains all ran to schedule!

An amazing coincidence. As I was leaving Naomhog for the weekend, I glanced at the newly arrived boat moored up next to me only to discover it was Daydream, the boat we had rented for three months that never left the starting block due to engine troubles. Obviously these were now sorted and here she was with her rightful owner. We had a little chat marvelling at the coincidence of being next to one another and I was so happy to see the boat once again in good working order. Strange to think if that boat had been working whilst we borrowed it, we would probably never have bought our own boat, or at least we would not have been looking at the time Naomhog was for sale and may well have missed our opportunity to buy her. So I have a lot to be thankful for!

Returning home was very active sociably. Alot of friends to catch up with in a small space of time. I didn’t have to cook one meal which was just as well as our cooking facilities are limited due to the rise in the price of gas and me turning our Aga off a little prematurely for the summer months. Son P and our lodger aren’t prolific cooks so they seem to be ok getting by on a couple of electric rings, a small oven and a microwave.

I had such an enjoyable game of tennis this morning I decided to take my racket back to the boat and see if I can access any courts near to the canal. I might even be really cheeky and if I spy a court, knock on the owner’s door and see if I can get a game! It’s the one thing I really miss that I can’t obviously do. Not sure if I really have the gall to approach total strangers! Perhaps I will find a public court nearby instead.

The afternoon saw us at a Thanksgiving service for a good friend’s mum and it happened to be in a town where we have long-standing friends so we begged a bed for the night and they kindly  invited my sister and husband for supper. Back to the boat tomorrow but before we can go anywhere Martin the engineer is going to service the engine and see if he can sort the problem of the engine cutting out.

I have decided to take advantage of Instagram so don’t be surprised (if you use it) by the prolific pictures posted today. I wanted to get up to speed with our journey since leaving the marina on 1st April. Our itinerary now is to get to Paddington Basin in London by the beginning of July, so I’m hoping to be able to record our travels in picture as well as word. It’s taken me a long time to embrace the benefits of Instagram. I just hope I don’t mistakenly post anything inappropriate or some scenic picture I find on my phone sent to me by someone else and nothing to do with our journey.

I was once told by a nursing tutor that when you sit down to write an essay you will find every other chore that needs doing before you start – no different to writing a talk for church or a piece for Canalsonline magazine or a Thanksgiving service – the three tasks I have set myself this week, alone on the boat! How am I getting on, you might be thinking? Well, I suppose one out of three ain’t bad and there’s still tomorrow!

I wonder why it’s so hard to get ones mind in gear, to focus and then to write. Even this blog takes a fair bit of concentration and memory! The memory’s  not as clear as it once was. A fleeting thought really is fleeting and it’s like, if it’s something important, I really have to find a handle to hold on to it, or it’s gone. Very annoying and it’s just going to get worse. I think that’s why I try to remember to do the daily Wordle and now the Waffle. There are plenty of others that are beyond me, like the worldle (note the extra ‘L’) but that’s more my lack of geograpical knowledge!

So with all good intentions the past couple of days have been designated for ‘writing’. I have tidied the roof of the boat (no easy task sorting the piles of wood to neaten them and standing on the roof to haul around the 15kg sacks of coal. Luckily my balance is ok); planted up some new troughs of flowers, carefully placing them out of the way of the centre rope or R will be telling me off; varnished the painted trough S and G gave us as a present; fiddled around in my new ‘room’ attaching washing lines and utilizing the now waterproof, windproof space under the semi-circular stern seat. The list goes on and that’s before I’ve engaged every passing person in conversation! Tuesday was rather wet though, so not much passing traffic on the towpath until later in the day and then we had a glorious red sky. I’m not sure the picture does it justice but that’s the view from my hatch window.

I’ve had some interesting talks. A very lengthy one on the phone with Alex who we leased Windrose from. He thinks he may know a few people who would be happy to run Naomhòg as a prayer boat on the occasions we need to be off the boat. Whilst standing on the roof a boat moored up in front of me and the lady had a BCF (boaters Christian fellowship) hoodie on. Transpired she writes poetry and environmental articles for their quarterly magazine and following on from our conversation, it looks like I am now going to write a chatty cookery column as the recent columnist has just retired! I’ve always wanted to write a recipe book. It was when, back in the day, I would regularly cook supper for 12 – 16 friends, seemingly effortlessly…. I used to joke it would be called Take two gins’ because once you have had two gins you really don’t worry what the food will taste like!! There’s a different art to boat cooking, mainly because you often have reduced access to ingredients, you are trying to minimise the gas use and you don’t want too many pots and pans to wash up! I suppose if I had solar panels and an electric oven I wouldn’t be so pedantic on my energy use. The pros and cons of solar is one of my main topics of conversation – it’s even overtaken the toilet talk!

My diet this week, as I haven’t had to consider anyone else has consisted of finishing up the jar of green thai sauce K and I opened on Saturday, cooling it down with the remains of the light coconut milk and then adding a different selection of veg each night and choosing a different carb! I was quite relieved to get invited out to dinner at the local pub by Ad to ring the changes (I have to tell you I was quite alarmed by the carb I had on Tuesday – it was some kind of no fat noodle that seemed a bit of a wonder food until I googled it mid eating and read that ‘unless well chewed it could cause oesophageal blockage and give you the runs’. It should have come with a health warning, especially for those of us who don’t chew properly!!).

Ad has been really helpful and part of my prevarication. He stopped by for a chat and not only ended up showing me how to read my batteries with a multimeter but went and got his multimeter when it transpired ours wasn’t giving a true reading. We have an analogue (I think that’s what it’s called!) rather than a digital dial on Naomhòg to monitor the battery power, which is not really accurate enough. Little did I realise when I bought the boat how consumed I would become in diesel engines and battery power. They are essential to this way of life. Somehow the necessities of home life I  take for granted until they go wrong and then I expect R to sort!    Ad unscrewed the panel with the dial to see if it’s possible to easily replace with a digital readout. I was relieved to hear his background was in engineering as the panel once removed revealed a complication of numerous red and black wires!

To cut a long story short, you’ll be relieved to hear, he mentioned the quiz night at the pub in Fenny C cost £2 and included a bowl of  chilli and chips! I was in. Never mind the quiz – my Scottish nature never likes to miss a bargain and actually the chilli tasted great and the chips weren’t soggy! The quiz was well run by the landlady who didn’t believe in hanging about and the pub was packed so it’s obviously a popular village pastime. Ad’s friend Ml joined us and we had a great evening. An older man propping up the bar with tattoos up his arms and earrings in both ears insisted on helping us although really he just wanted someone to talk to. It sounded like he had a very lonely life, living in a caravan, working locally, away from family and friends. Ad and Ml walked me back to the boat, Ad in a high vis vest and head torch, as we were walking along a main road with no pavement before reaching the canal. It’s always advisable to light up the towpath! I think Ad is ultra cautious in part due to one aspect of his working life. He used to be in the Forces and part of his job entailed telling colleagues if their family members had died. One man had been waiting for his wife to pick him up and she was killed in a road accident en route. Terribly sad and there were many more tragic stories. Ad has an air of compassion about him that makes me feel he would have been very good at his job.

So the good news is that even with my prevarications, I finished my Sunday talk just as I was collected for my evening out! Further good news was my blood pressure reading on return from the pub – lowest in a long time! Meanwhile R, at home, is still getting to grips with the new, rather complicated Waitrose voucher system. This week the offer was £4 off their No1 ready meal range, a beef bourguignon for two, which R duly bought, took home and put in the fridge. By the time he returned from the church pub night son P had devoured it all. What is it about the appetites of the young – he’s 6ft 3 and lean as a bean!

A lot seems to have happened since Saturday lunchtime but perhaps I am just used to a slower pace of life on the boat and get taken by surprise when I get busy!

It was such fun having Ka visit and we had quite an adventurous day. For me, without the reassuring presence of R there was a weight of responsibility. Ka had never narrow-boated before and had a lot to learn in a short space of time! We had 13 locks and a journey of at least 6 – 7hrs to do in order for Ka to return to her car by midday Sunday. We didn’t start out until nearly 1pm because of the transport delays so Ka hit the ground running! It was a steep learning curve and we very soon reached our first lock and Ka got into action. My recent purchase of a set of walkie talkies really came in useful as I could talk Ka through the lock procedure whilst still being on board the boat. She was a quick learner! An added complication of the day was that the boat’s engine cut out at least half a dozen times as we idled at locks, waiting for them to be ready. This is a problem I had hoped we had fixed but obviously not, so I sent a message to Martin asking if he could once again come and look at the engine and include a full engine service. He tried to help advise as best he could but he was off to a wedding, it was half-term with his family and the last thing he needed was me bleating down the phone! In true Martin fashion he was very gracious and patient – I think he likes a mystery to solve! Fortunately each time the engine stalled it restarted easily and Naomhog chugged along beautifully as long as we didn’t linger with the engine running. The first time it happened I did moor at the side of the canal, remove the weed hatch and put my hand down in the cold water to check there was nothing caught around the propellor. I then managed to replace  the hatch lid tightly as there is a risk of sinking the boat if the lid is not put back properlyly. A first for me. I’ve always left that particular job to R!

Ka soon got the hang of steering but was too nervous to steer the boat into a lock so she said she would work all the locks. Realising this would exhaust her, I reassured her that even if she banged the sides of the boat entering the lock, she wouldn’t do much damage (it’s a contact sport!) The boat survived and Ka said she was pleased to have learnt a new skill and I was happy to take my turn at manning the locks. However, the combination of teaching a newbie, coupled with the engine saga, meant our day was prolonged and we were amazed to find it was close to 7.30 before we moored up for the day, with still another hour and a half to go. A further complication was the discovery that Ka had left her mobile in the WC at Cropredy! Luckily a very nice boater called James found it and managed to contact Ka’s husband. It was fortunate that James was traveling in our direction and able to reunite Ka with her phone first thing Sunday morning! We were so exhausted by the day that we ate numerous nuts and drank half a 50cl  bottle of gin between the two of us!! Slightly regretted it the next morning when we had to be up bright and breezy to get to Fenny Compton before any other boaters so we could secure a good mooring and Ka could be reunited with her phone!

I needed to be in the 14 day, not the 2 day mooring and managed to straddle the demarcation line. I asked the friendly looking man in the next door boat if he might be moving on so I could slide into his place and thankfully he was about to set off. However his departure got somewhat delayed when I discovered he and his wife were one of two couples working for the Waterways chaplaincy as roving chaplains. It was something I had thought about doing last year so I was excited to talk with Chris and his wife, Fiona. They seemed interested in my prayer boat and it really felt like a God given meeting. I mentioned I would like some books of Psalms to give out as a gift as the psalms speak so powerfully about all emotions and feelings. Chris handed me half a dozen ‘New Testament with Psalms’ books that they get a supply of from the Waterways Chaplaincy and he thinks they would give me more.   Chris suggests R and I think about joining a group of Christian couples who all have boats on the canals but each does a specific individual ministry. For example there’s a boat that is a roving soup kitchen and one that is used as a vaccination centre. Chris thought a prayer boat might be a welcome addition. All food for thought.

Thinking of food Ka and I went to the Wharf Inn for brunch only to discover they were not ready to serve food so we ended up back at Cropredy hoping the cafe we found on Google was open as advertised. Apparently, according to the neighbour, the owner had had a late party night and there was no sign of him! We found a bohemian cafe on the waterside and by then would have eaten anything! Ka was now en route home so I said I would walk back along the canal to Fenny Compton as it was only 6 miles. I had a really lovely walk. The canal by now was like Picadilly Circus with boats going every which way and queues for the locks. I had lots of chats. One of the most useful was with a man controlling his short narrowboat far better in the lock, going upwards, than I had managed yesterday, when I found my boat banging into the front lock gates because the force of the water entering the lock was greater than my reverse engine power. The simple tip he gave was to make sure the boat is far back in the lock when it starts to fill. That way you do not get caught in the forward stream of water. That tip alone was worth the walk!

Up early to take my  soaked washing to the watertap to rinse so that I didn’t deplete my water tank, I met a boater called Gr who lives on a boat called ‘Pilgrim’ and whose motto, I later found out, was to help anyone who asked because he had the time to do so. He had among other things, walked the Compostelo pilgrim journey in Spain but due to worn out knees now is a boat pilgrim. He very kindly attached my three new boat ropes, a birthday present from my children, whilst showing me clever ways to moor more securely. Necessary when there is a lot of passing traffic, the force of which can loosen your ropes if travelling at speed. My ropes are multicoloured, the bow one especially from daughter Ho, because it is the colours of the Jamaican flag, where she loves to be.

A while later, having turned my bow cratch into a little office, a boater stopped to chat and eventually we realised we had met two years ago in Upper Heyford. He remembered my prayer banner on ‘Windrose’ and I remembered he had a wife who stayed at home all week whilst he enjoyed being on his boat. Every Saturday he picks her up to go to Bristol to visit her 99 year old father who still lives alone. The only help he has is from two ladies who call themselves the ‘put to bed ladies’ and between them, visit him nightly to do just that!

The great excitement of the day was John and Val from Jectec arriving with my stern pram canopy, so I feel I  have a complete new room on the boat. The washing is already hanging out there, so much better than having ones smalls on view for everyone to see on the side of the boat! It was positively hot, like a conservatory, at tea time and then survived the pounding rain that arrived early evening.

Whilst writing this the day has darkened and my only lights are the battery fairy lights adorning the walls,  timed to come on so they can act as a form of security. Where does the time go? Incredible to think another month is drawing to a close. Let me leave you with a saying someone said to me yesterday which gave me pause for thought “You can’t see to believe. You have to believe to see”.

So here I wait, at the bus stop in Banbury for my friend K to arrive. Better late than never let’s hope. So far the 1045 Stagecoach from Fenny C has failed to arrive. Apparently they do cancel without much notice. At least she was able to find out from The Wharf Inn that the 77a Johnson bus may leave at 1135. They didn’t tell her it was a different bus stop but luckily I had rung to ask how she was getting on. If all else fails she’ll get a taxi but they have to come from Banbury out to Fenny C so take a while. At least it’s summer daylight hours so we can travel until quite late if necessary. This is canal time! My day started late. At least, I was awake 0400 until 0600 so by the time I got back to sleep I didn’t even hear my phone ring at 0840. The first I knew it was 0945! Still, I feel well rested and ready to face the challenges of the day ahead. Without R to hold my hand it’s a test of how capable I really am, not only to get the boat from A to B but also to instruct K as to what needs doing. There’s a lot of locks ahead of us and as far as I am aware K is a total novice!

A bit of ‘while the cat’s away’ going on. After R left on the train back home yesterday, within ten minutes I had found a charity shop and purchased not only a new summer hat to shade me from the sun whilst on the helm, but a blackout white curtain that will be perfect, with slight alteration, as a projector screen and privacy blind at the bow of the boat on the new cratch. Our other screen was 4″ too narrow to totally cover the window and fits far better at the foot of our bed! I can also now seamlessly move movies from one end of the boat to the other! All for the princely sum of £3.

My other transgression was to buy a few new plant pot holders and some more flowers to brighten up the outside of Naomhòg. I’ve always been a terrible gardener – the task of keeping a large garden under control is too much for me. However plants in pots suit me much better. R rightly says they get in the way of the mooring ropes but that’s a small price to pay for a bit of colour!

We started the day yesterday checking out the nearest water tap in case I needed to fill out drinking water containers. A boat was filling up and we chatted to the friendly couple who even invited us on board for a cup of coffee – let me recommend Morrison’s coffee bags! He has been boating annually for years with friends he met at the Christian Union when he was a student. One of them bought a narrowboat and so he has been on many of the more southern waterways. It was so lovely to be on the receiving end of ministry, to have our story heard and then prayed for. It made me realise this is a two way journey. I believe God wants us to help those we meet and chat to but equally sometimes we are in need of encouragement and God appears to be putting people in our pathway to help us. All out of the blue and unexpected. Jo and Hi had unexpectedly met a young lad yesterday by a lock, who looked extremely dejected. It transpired there were problems at home due to his parents following different religions. They felt they were in the right place at the right time to help him just by listening and being non judgemental.

Returning to the boat having seen R safely on the train home I opened the hatch, forgetting I had a ‘tea and chat’ sign visible. A chap outside said he didn’t want the tea but gave me a chocolate eclair sweet and stayed to chat for ten minutes. I thought that very kind of him and it was interesting to hear how he lives on his boat whilst running a shop in Banbury picture framing. He has a longterm mooring on the canalside but it’s quite a tough way of life as you get on in years. The mod cons we take for granted in a house all have to be sorted and replenished by hand and foot. I’m realising that in good weather it is so much easier but the winter months are hard for those living aboard full time.

Awoke in the night with the most terrible cramp in my legs which in turn woke R abruptly as I made rather alot of noise! According to R, I should have warmed up my muscles before working half a dozen locks with all the additional walking involved with the type of locks on the Oxford canal. There are two gates to open to let the boat out downstream which means once you have opened one you need to walk all the way around the lock to open the other one and then walk all the way back to close the first one. Some people with long legs, mentioning no names, just stride across. I’m tempted to jump but think I am just too old to attempt such a feat and it really would be very stupid! I was delighted to have done so much exercise in one day, until the cramp hit. R decided I needed to rest today so he did the locks into Banbury whilst I took to the helm. Ironically I had done all the locks yesterday as I was anxious about his leg which is still causing him discomfort.

We had unexpected visitors in the form of H and J, our friends from the north, who I was expecting next week. Wires crossed and they arrived mid morning! Luckily we were still at Fenny C because Martin had returned to double check our electrics and do the full gas service, which needs to be completed every year. All was in order by midday and so H and I set off along the cut whilst R accompanied J in his car to our end point and then they walked back along the towpath to join the boat. There were stretches of towpath that were very high up and inaccessible to the canal so it was fortunate we did not coincide there! Infact we met up just as we were going under a bridge so it was easy for the men to jump aboard. J took the helm whilst I went into the galley to make up some wraps for lunch. I try to keep some long shelf life rations on board, so even though we hadn’t expected J and H there was plenty of food available for a picnic. Our timing was impeccable – just as we moored up near the car for lunch the heavens opened and the rain lashed down. By the time H and J had to leave the sun had come out so we waved them goodbye and continued on towards Cropredy where we spent the night, thankful that we were able to secure a mooring near to the centre of the village. It is incredibly popular with boaters so it is not a given that you will find space. We met our bestman and his wife in the pub for supper as they live relatively nearby and had a very relaxed evening although it has to be said I felt quite exhausted from the day! My conversation with Ol revolved around the intricacies of boat batteries and how to prolong their shelf life, followed by the working of a diesel engine. I have known Ol nearly fifty years, shared a flat with him in London in our twenties and if anyone had told me one day we’d be sitting chatting batteries and engines I would never have believed them. As a child my brothers were car mad and would, by listening to the sound of their engines, know exactly what was wrong with them. I meanwhile couldn’t distinguish one sound from another, mainly because I didn’t want to and couldn’t see the point. How times change. Today I was tuning into all the engine sounds in the hopes that I will be able to recognise when something may be amiss.

We arrived in Banbury at lunchtime. Our original plan was to only go as far as Cropredy. Then R would take a train home on Friday from Banbury having caught a bus into the town. There are no buses as far as I can make out from Cropredy so, as we had the time, I suggested we just continue on. I’m returning to Fenny C at the weekend in the hopes my pram cover for the stern will be delivered early next week. I had thought the locks would be too numerous and heavy without R but my confidence is growing and I think my friend K, who is coming for the weekend, and I should be able to manage. I must just remember to stretch beforehand!

I’m delighted to be in Banbury! Moored up near all the shops, with the nearest supermarket, Lidl, a five minutes walk. So I enjoyed perusing the ‘middle of Lidl’ this evening whilst buying some fresh veg for supper. We sneaked into the local cinema for a matinee performance of Downton Abbey shortly after our arrival with all the other oldies in the vicinity! Then we managed to turn the boat, ready for returning to Fenny, on a stretch of the canal that just didn’t look wide enough. However another boater assured us that boats up to 45ft can turn and offered to come and help us in the task. He had introduced himself as we arrived because he saw our BCF (Boaters Christian fellowship) sticker in the window and had recently become a member. Joining us for a cup of tea he told us that he only bought his boat a month ago, having never stepped aboard a narrowboat before! Living alone he couldn’t understand the point of going out to work for long hours to pay for a home that, because of the long hours working to pay for it, you never got time to live in! So he, Li, decided to sell his house and buy a narrowboat that he could afford without having to work such long hours to pay for. His dream is to set up a tea room, preferably one that is user friendly to carers and their charge. As a carer himself, he said it was always difficult taking someone out to a cafe where you had to stand for a long time in a queue. Meanwhile the person you were looking after was alone at a table so you aren’t then looking after them. I think he favours offering a tearoom with table service, a little like we had during covid. Li, because of his boating inexperience, decided to do a two day helmsman course at Tooley Boatyard, here in Banbury (apparently, it is the oldest boatyard in the country) and he was able to give us some useful tips on reversing!

Supper was very late by the time I had returned from Lidl and put the ingredients in our Ecopot, a slow cooker that relies on insulation rather than electricity. I had been keen to give it a go so tonight was the night but we had to wait an hour for it to cook, so I think it was nearer to ten o’click before our risotto was ready! Didn’t taste too bad and had definitely continued to cook and remained hot.

A boat moored at the water point with such a neat and tidy roof (these are the things we boaters notice !) I went and congratulated them. It transpired the couple were just finishing a three month stint on the waterways. They had found a long-term rental but had not been overly enamoured with the boat so have decided instead to buy one. It transpired they are Canadian, but he had been born in the UK. Every year they return here to go on a narrowboat. For a dozen years they have part shared a narrowboat but it never felt quite their own as they couldn’t leave any belongings on it. Now retired, they plan on spending more time here and are full of enthusiasm for their new venture – narrowboating really does get under your skin!

On our other side was a boat that is usually moored at Calcutt Marina, where we spent the winter. The couple bought their boat second hand last year and at present can only use it at weekends because of work commitments, but I was fascinated to see that she had a loom and sat weaving on her cruiser stern. Showing me how easy it is to do (after the initial set up which sounded pretty complicated to me!) I was quite inspired to go and buy one for myself. No more tennis elbow from tensely holding my knitting needles. A great use of odds and ends of wool and in no time at all you can produce scarves, cushion covers etc. I told her I needed to get to grips with my interlocker first, which I have aboard to encourage my creative side. I might go and watch some looming YouTube videos though!

Talking creativity, today seemed as good a day as any to complete my ‘prayer boat’ banner. 24th May – my priestly dad would have been 102 today! An auspicious day too for son G and Mi as their first baby arrived – a miniature labradoodle. Visions of Pluto, our friends not so minature labraD, dance in my mind. I love that dog but you have to have eyes in the back of your head if you don’t want your shoes chewed and your food eaten. Everything has to be out of his reach! It will be like ‘Little and Large’ if ever Pluto and Brucie get together – two extremes of the same breed!

April showers have definitely crept into May which meant Martin (M J Craft) had to set up a tarpaulin before he could set to work on changing our batteries and inverter. A relatively simple procedure, or so he thought until he started looking at what was already in place. I did start getting nervous when parts of the boat had to be removed to actually get to the original wiring (upside – we now have an inspection hatch!) but eventually, numerous cups of tea later for all of us, the new system was up and running. Not sure I fully understand it but R listened attentively so I hope if anything goes amiss he can figure it out! Battery systems and boats it transpires, are really complicated! I want to prevent the new batteries going flat ahead of time, unlike the previous set – I don’t think they have worked properly since we got the boat so no wonder the fridge has never worked efficiently. Amazing I haven’t given us a dose of food poisoning. Although not so surprising when I think of my mother’s fridge and what we ate from it – I think her legacy to me may be a cast iron stomach! So, I need to understand how the battery system functions but it is taxing my brain. Apparently there’s a really good Facebook group to join which is dedicated to 12v battery usage. The only downside is that everyone with a little bit of knowledge gives different advice!

The delight of the day was when I realised the freezer compartment was super cold, I could run the vacuum cleaner and charge all our electrical gadgets! An early night, with the screen at the foot of our bed watching a movie – bliss! It was a great film by the way on Prime video – ‘I can only imagine’. The true story behind the song and how it came to be written. All about redemption and forgiveness and how the transforming power of Jesus’s love changed Bart’s father from “a monster to a loving dad” in the last months of his life. Good thing we were awake late because we had an unexpected phonecall from Martin suggesting we turn off the invertor overnight. He had been ruminating on his wiring and decided he wants to double check it before we set off tomorrow. I don’t know whether to be worried there’s something seriously amiss or grateful that he is so conscientious and thorough (hopefully the latter). Thinking about it, the day abruptly ended as everything had taken much longer than anticipated so I imagine he arrived home realising there were further checks needed to ensure all is in good working order. This itinerant way of life means if a hiccough occurs you could be far from the original mechanic who helped you so it’s better to try and ensure the job is properly completed in the first instance.

It has to be said the day started a little subdued as both R and I felt the effects of our firepit evening. Let’s just say we consumed a lot of water first thing! The one thing we are learning along the way is that everyone has their own interpretation of what things may mean on the cut. So last night when I told Pi and Mr T about the purchase of my teapot as a sign of offering hospitality to the lonely, they looked a bit shocked. The story they had heard was that a teapot signifies you are ‘swingers’. Oh dear, a bit of a different take as to why we have a teapot. Now I don’t know quite what to do with it – it looks lovely filled with flowers!!

We were slightly surprised to see the boat moored beside us untying its ropes and casting off – we had overheard them say they were pleased they could stay here for 48hrs. We hope it wasn’t our carousing of the night before that encouraged them to move on before time – we knew tonight we would be better behaved as we had been invited out to supper locally so no impromptu firepit scheduled. We had a really lovely evening meeting the couple who had lent us their Scottish home to stay in for our son’s recent wedding. Sending them a thank you gift I had been amazed at how close they lived to the part of the canal we are presently moored at, so I let them know we happened to be nearby and we were immediately invited for supper! Iv came to collect us in his car and returned us at the end of a very jolly evening. He is a farmer and the views from their house in the midst of the countryside are stunning. As beautiful as their Scottish retreat – I remarked on how blessed they were to wake up to such amazing views. I suppose the downside is that you need transport to get anywhere and Hea said that certainly in this area all the bus routes are being cut back because they are just not frequented enough. It must be so difficult and expensive by taxi, for the elderly who may no longer be able to drive and those who cannot afford to run a car. HS2 is being built close by so a lot of the countryside is churned up and unattractive to boot! It was a contrast to our alfresco evening before and we so appreciated sitting in a spacious room eating a lovely home cooked meal that was not all made in one pot! Much as we love our new way of life, occasionally it is nice to be in bricks and mortar especially when it is raining, as was the case last night.

We had walked to the CoOp earlier in the day to replenish our thank you gift for Iv and Hea. That was after we had witnessed Picadilly Circus alongside our narrowboat as, like buses, the boat’s arrived together, all wanting water and another boat was trying to pass through. R and I helped as best we could, holding ropes to steady boats whilst they waited and enjoying the boating banter. These are such cameo moments. We realise most of the people we chat to we will never meet again but it is so nice to have the opportunity to pass the time of day. How often at home I go about my business with my head down, deep in thought of what I need to do next, without making the effort to speak to strangers. Infact I would probably be considered rather odd if I started conversations ad hoc!

I mention to people we are not just on a jolly but that we feel God has put us on the water with the purpose of being a Prayer Boat and then I feel guilty that the banner I am planning to make is still in the making. So, after the walk into Fenny for the chocolate heist, I set about my banner making and it was very therapeutic to do something creative. It is gradually taking shape, made out of leftover pieces of cratch material.

I received a call from Ma the engineer who is replacing or boat batteries, we thought on Wednesday. The good news for us is that he has had a cancellation so is now coming to fit them tomorrow which means we should be able to set off once again on our travels by Wednesday morning. I was encouraged by a seasoned boater to ring the CRT sooner rather than later if we want to go through London and stay at one of their visitor’s moorings. This boater thought we could only book for one night. Infact I found out you can book for up to a week at a time so we plan to be in London from July 1st through to the 4th. Please do get in touch if you would like to visit us then. Visitors always welcome!

A day of unexpected friendship. It started abruptly when I, still undressed, heard R outside directing a boat. Hurriedly throwing on some clothes, so as not to miss the excitement, I went outside to witness a 70ft boat straddled across the canal trying to turn around in the winding hole. The people aboard had only done two days narrowboating and had been warned by the hire company that this was a difficult boat to turn. It’s part of the reason I only wanted a short boat – if friends would like to borrow Naomhòg I don’t want them overwhelmed by a massively long boat to manoeuvre. Eventually a boater with a long term mooring nearby arrived on the scene and said this happened frequently so she knew exactly the position the boat had to be in order to complete the turn. Sure enough they were soon en route but I didn’t envy the skipper – the Oxford canal is both full of twists and turns and a lot of boats travelling in the opposite direction that needed to be passed with care. One of the crew gave me his mobile number so I could WhatsApp him the pictures I took as a memento!

A boat pulled up at the water point and I started chatting to the owners as I admired the paintwork which was pristine, as was the boat! I was surprised to hear it was over 20 years old and had just had a repaint as the owner has grown tired of patching it up year after year. He (along with his wife) was a seasoned boat owner of many different styles of boat, having first got involved when his son joined the sea cadets and over time he became an instructor for various types of boats but ended up with a narrowboat as a result of holidaying on one a few decades ago. They were from Reigate and knew the River Wey well and were most encouraging about us mooring along the canal so we may yet get the boat nearer to home so we can have day trippers! Most of their trips were on rivers rather than canals so he was very knowledgeable about anchors and was able to give me a run through, not only of the size required, but how to actually use one if needed. It’s all well and good being told you are required to have an anchor before going on a river but not much help if you don’t know what to do with it! I was very grateful for the tuition and all before breakfast!

We decided to walk to church as R had found a route via footpaths. The problem was my satnav and Rs sense of direction were not as one. Eventually we arrived at our destination and I have to admit the prolonged journey was probably due to me rather than R. His logic was follow a well worn footpath when a village only has one path leading to it even if the satnav points in a slightly different direction. Walking across the field, seeing the church in the distance I felt like I had reverted back a century or two when it was common for people to walk miles to church on a Sunday morning. Arriving at church 5 minutes late we need not have worried as the building was empty. Unbeknownst to us they had decided to have a 10 o’clock breakfast service in the village hall which by now we had missed. Still we sat in the quiet of the beautiful old church and did our own little service together which felt very peaceful and enriching. Then we walked around the village and came across the village hall just as the lady vicar and her two churchwardens were departing – we expressed our regret that we had missed the cafe style church – any excuse to eat croissants and brioche for breakfast! We engaged them in conversation, finding out that like many village churches they are low on numbers attending on a Sunday but that the community spirit is buoyant and there is plenty going on, showing God in action outside of the church walls and his love being demonstrated in practical ways throughout the village and beyond as Fenny Compton is part of a benefice of a few local churches.

Arriving back at the boat, armed with chocolates as a gift for a supper we are going to tomorrow (CoOp’s best as no alternative!) I opened my hatch with the sign offering cups of tea and chat. Almost immediately Pi arrived and Mr T (as I came to call him by the end of the evening!) and suddenly I remembered we had met Pi back in December at Braunston – what we did not realise then was that she was a whizz mechanic and before long she offered to help R remove our damaged battery before it did any more damage to the further two batteries installed on the boat, or worst case scenario, caught fire. Her payment was the chocolate I had purchased as a gift for tomorrow so I will have to do a return trip to the CoOp to buy a further supply. As Pi and R set to work Mr T and I got chatting as he had spent four years on a boat at Roydon on the Stort navigation and that is where R and I are headed. He had lots to tell and decided a glass of wine was in order. That was the first of a few offered throughout the evening. Eventually R got the firepit out and Pi and Mr T produced some sausages. We purchased some sweet potato fries from the pub and had a great evening! Mr T was full of stories and we shared a sense of humour so there was much laughter between us all extending into the late evening. On a more serious note he could not speak highly enough of the Waterways chaplain at Roydon who he said went out of her way to help any boater in need. If I remember correctly Mr T used to work in security for the Ministry of Defence but he gave up when the Tories came into power! Now he makes perfumed wax melts that he sells by the hundreds through Etsy, Twitter etc. He also puts personalised photos onto things such as mugs and tee shirts. He had a third string to his bow but I can’t remember what it was but all very enterprising and from his boat! Pi meanwhile also paints the outside of boats and can do all the beautiful signage of the boat’s names and flowers etc. It was such an unexpectedly joyful evening and I think it’s what I love about our adventure – not knowing who we are going to meet and every day bringing up unexpected events (not all good!!).

Decided to replenish our fresh food stores by taking the bus into Banbury. Who knew it could be so exhausting! Just working out which bus might be running, from which stop and by which company was taxing enough. It was not clear, even by googling, how exactly we would get there and infact when we were in the bus coming back, the two ladies present (only four of us on the entire bus!) informed us invariably buses were cancelled! I’m not entirely surprised if hardly anyone uses them but it leaves one wondering how carless people out in the countryside get about.

Yesterday we had our church friends from Southam come to visit with their daughter M. S has recently had a knee replacement so was filling us in on the gory details which slightly depressed R who is definitely struggling with his knee. It did encourage him to keep going with the exercises recommended by the physio but it’s a sobering thought if he can’t easily get in and out of the boat or do much walking. We had a lot of walking in Banbury because all the shops we wanted seemed to be at opposite ends of the town. Having arrived at about 1130 by 2pm R had had enough but the return bus wasn’t until 4pm. He found a bench in the intermittent sun, read the paper and guarded our 2 rucksacks of shopping whilst I wandered off to scour the charity shops for a teapot. A traditional sign to boaters of an assured welcome. Returning back to the boat with said purchase I filled it with flowers and it is sitting decoratively on the bow end roof, well away from any ropes. Things on the roof are easily swept off by mooring ropes so R tries to discourage me from overly filling the roof although he is allowed to stockpile wood and coal, even in the summer! I grant you it is useful for the firepit,(also taking up roof space). Not quite sure where the solar panel will fit but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it! I’m hoping it will be raised enough to fit some wood underneath but because of the many low bridges we don’t want to add unnecessary height. Am planning to go along the Stort in a few weeks and a helpful boater warned me that there are alot of very low bridges to navigate. Note to self to remember to remove the chimney stack!

The Oxford canal is incredibly busy. There are boats passing in both directions frequently and the water point is in great demand. I had fun doing my washing yesterday. Once I had finished scrubbing it in the soapy suds I took it to the water point, drained the water and commenced to do three or four rinses directly with the cold water tap. I then used the spin drier in the boat to get it as dry as possible and hung it in the bow area covered with the new cratch which, due to the sun, became excessively warm, like a drying cupboard. The delight one gets from simple pleasures although it has to be said I felt like an old fashioned washerwoman!!

We’ve rigged up a portable projector with the screen at the bow end of the boat so we no longer are constrained to watching films on my mobile phone. From one extreme to another! James Bond ‘No Time to Die’ kept us entertained for two nights as the first night we only got halfway through when the projector battery died! As the batteries on the boat are so flat at the moment we couldn’t recharge without turning on the boat engine and this is discouraged after 8pm due to noise pollution. We nearly stayed late in Banbury to go to the cinema to see the new Downton film. The downside would have been hanging around until 5.30pm and then having to taxi home. In addition we would have needed to find a bite to eat. I worked out we might have ended up spending upwards of £60 just to watch a movie! Having been shopping I had plenty of food for us to eat and sadly eating out can be both expensive and disappointing if you don’t have much knowledge of the local eateries. The Wharf Inn, where we are moored is perfectly pleasant but I overheard the manager saying how difficult it is to get staff at present. Everyone does their best but it’s not easy. It reminds me of when I was nursing. As second year students we would be put in charge of a twenty bed ward on night duty and sometimes there would only be one other helper, usually unqualified. It was often very stressful! I once did nights with a girl who was a vegan, when veganism was relatively unknown. I seem to remember we ate a lot of raw red peppers and not much else!