Downsides, but hey ........

Today I have hit the first real problem with being a boater. Long story but ...... next Sunday I will be flying out to India! We bought a boat to take the pressure off me having to meet the mortgage payments. Because I am self employed there is always the worry about where the next penny is coming from. However ... since we have lived on the boat, despite my having given up some branches of employment I didn't feel the need to do any more, my work has increased in other areas and all of a sudden I have more work than I need!! I do feel that part of this is to do with my more relaxed attitude to everything - people notice these things! However when  I was asked to go and work in India for a month I was excited and apprehensive in just about equal measure.

Having done some research, making payments by visa in India can be problematic and I was advised to get a mastercard as a back up. Now, no matter how hard up we were in the past, we always paid our way and had a very good credit status. So imagine my frustration when I was refused a credit card this time. I am still not entirely clear why I was refused - the companies I have consulted have not been forthcoming, but I suspect it was because I do not have a 'proper' address. I am so cross!! We sold our house and bought a boat - we have savings for God's sake!! I don't actually need credit I just want an alternative to visa in case I need it!

Part of our problem is that we are totally 'up front' about our situation. A lot of people enjoy living on a boat because they can dodge all sorts of things - television licence. council tax. etc. They simply give an address of a relative as their permanent residence, but we wanted to be totally up front about how we live - we are proud of it! Our marina is a 'leisure' park on which people are only allowed to be for approximately 10 months of the year. In reality there are numerous 'liveaboards' like us and the sooner this is legitimised the better. We are currently applying for 'residential' status which will increase our mooring fees considerably, but we don't care! Maybe we might just be 'credit worthy' then.

Apart from that it has been a lovely day! I am trying to prepare for India - got my next raft of jabs tomorrow, have ordered my deet anti-mosquito spray and am washing all my light summer gear. In the meantime I filled the water tank and put in some purification tablets and I have to say the water coming out of the tap is pretty good, although I still won't make tea with it!!

The cider is coming on really well:

We racked it off today and also treated the cider in the barrel, adding some yeast and sugar. Our neighbours saw us swilling out demijohns and very soon there was a crowd offering advice and comparing notes. This prompted me to bring out some of our damson and sloe Gin to see how it was doing and I have to say it was sensational!! That will all be supped well before Christmas! This prompted J, one of our student boaters (sensible kids living on a boat instead of exhorbitant university accommmodation) to go and get his sloe gin and we all had a taste. The chutney then came out and my blackberry chutney went down well (quite a kick with the chillis!) and someone else produced some apple and date chutney which just begged for cheese, so we all raided our fridges. All in all a great community spirit, and of course another afternoon which just disappeared without much getting done!

I then took Jack for a walk and in the knowledge that I will soon be in arid India, I soaked up the autumn colours - my favourite time of year. Albert Camus, (another one of my heroes) said:

'Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower'    So true!

Here is Jack enjoying his walk on the tow path!

We have booked a mini break at Haweswater, our favourite lake in the Lake District, for some walking on Wednesday and Thursday and I fly to India next Sunday, so I'm not sure how many blogs I will get in now until I go. I will be back mid December when some interesting boating stuff happens so please bear with me and I will be back soon.....

Al :)