proper boating fix

At the weekend we met up with some new friends down at the boat to show them what  playing with a narrowboat is like (we met them on the sailing course!)

A quick trip up into Rugeley and back followed by lunch at the pub.  Really good fun and I am pretty sure they enjoyed themselves as Zena has invited herself on board for a girly weekend!  She steered most of the way back coping well with bridgeholes, a boat coming the other way etc  The sun shone but it was a bit cold as I found out after I had drunk my half lager and promptly started shivering.  I had been fine up till then but the lowering of the core temperature must have been the last straw for the camel's back.  Today the canal was iced over so good job we moved the boat at the weekend.

As of today I now have a lovely side hatch cover which should keep down some of the draughts and leaves out of the boat.

I notice that as the time draws near for me to move back onto the boat the temperature is going down ...

You have been warned ...

As from Tuesday this week I have been teaching myself the violin.

(My Mother had one hanging around not being used - as you do!)

I like to run before I can walk so I have progressed myself rapidly through Frere Jacques, Oranges and Lemons, Plaisir d'amour to the Habanera from Carmen.

Rob is not happy.

He is strangely looking forward to me returning to the boat.

Sad but strangely uplifting day

Today was Roy's funeral.  He died suddenly on Sunday 8th January.  

His daughter Sam became part of my family when she was eight and she begged for rides on my horse Soda.  I even took time off work once to see her in a Nativity Play!  Aged ten she wasn't too proud to ride my shetland Typhoo and now she is a mad showjumper.  From little acorns ...

Anyway I went to the funeral which was lovely, very moving and the black horses were fabulous.

On the way home I called in to the bit of the Chesterfield Canal that I helped make the wash wall for back in 2004.

Look it is now in water.

Mill Green

Unfortunately it was too muddy to walk all the way around to the new marina as I was in my bestist clothes.

Well I never

Just popped down to the boat and found someone had left me some chocolates hidden away on the front deck.

How sweet and yes I now feel sick from having scoffed most of them.

burp

Get Voting

Andy Tidy, Author of Captain Ahab's Watery Tales is putting himself up for the CRT. This is his mini statement.

“My passion for boating dates from the ‘dirty ditches’ of the 1960's to the magnificent system of today. I have travelled widely on our narrowboat Wand'ring Bark, and it has been said that canal water flows through my veins!

Professionally, I oversee operational integrity within a multinational business, shaping policy, strategy and applying a commercial approach to planning.

If elected I will approach this Council role as an enthusiast and a professional, combining 30 years of commercial experience with a 40 year passion for our waterways. It's crucial that the C&RT strikes the right balance between the needs of the various user groups, particularly the boaters who must remain core to its operation.

I will take a critical view of commercial and strategic aspects of the Trust's proposals and plans. I would be honoured to represent the boating community.”

I have met Andy Tidy briefly (if you can call it that) and exchanged a few ideas over t'internet. On the basis of this, his blog and his mini statement above he is definitely getting my vote.

Happy New Year

How original.  Now you might think I am a bit late in wishing this to everyone but in the interests of H&S I was just making sure that it really was a new year and not a bit left over from the old one.  My excuse and I am sticking to it.