An Englishman's boat is not his castle

It's raining again today so I am catching up on the blog I didn't manage to post yesterday. The reason I didn't post was quite simply a bad case of low spirits. I have mentioned 'incidents' here before and they come from two sources, one is basically nuisance value but the other is more sinister and potentially could cause major problems.

I had done a lovely job of cleaning the boat out in the morning and was having a morning cuppa with my friend T. We were both in very good spirits and were discussing projects for the future when it came to our attention that our duckling ramp had not only been removed, but everything had been slung in the bin. This was without so much as a 'by your leave' and is one of many similar incidents which have happened recently. We never got to the bottom of why this had happened because, not wanting confrontation, we thought that the line of least resistence was the best policy. Usually when anything like this happens (and it seems to be happening more frequently) health and safety is quoted, so we don't have a leg to stand on.

This is one of the downsides of living on a boat and it is seriously bugging me! When we lived in a house we were in full control of everything we owned, but here, despite owning our boat we still have to rent the berth so are basically little more than tenants. In the majority of cases this would not be a problem but potentially you can fall foul of petty beaurocracy and a peevish 'landlord'. This seems to be the case now where we are. We decided not to rent our berth from one of the many private marinas on the canal for this very reason because you are very much at the mercy of the vagaries of the landlord, who can turf you off at a moments notice if you happen to put a foot wrong or your face doesn't fit. There is more protection where we are, but here, it is more likely that we will leave of our own free will, because the atmosphere is becoming so unpleasant.

I feel angry that we are treated with such a lack of consideration and respect. There are many professional people living here who are just not used to being treated like that. The majority of us rub along very well and enjoy the life style but I for one feel very uneasy about the lack of control I have over my life all of a sudden. We all understand that there have to be rules and regulations when living in this sort of set up, but when they are applied with such rigour and apparent vindictiveness it spoils everything.

I have posted this just as a warning that there are some downsides to living on a boat and the 'renting' the mooring aspect is a biggie for me because I don't have full control of my life. T and I discussed becoming continuous cruisers, but that is a very hard life and I do need the stability of a permanent base while I am still working. The other berth holders and us are looking at trying to resolve this problem and I will keep you posted.

On a brighter note, we have finished planting at the allotment and here is our final virtual plan:

I took jack for a long walk which really cheered me up and he came and had a lovely snooze in front of our newly lit fire:

Today Phil has taken the trailer and is going to visit our builder friend who has a stack of wood for us - just in time as I have just used the last of our wood supplies lighting the fire this morning.

:)

Ducklings

It has been a busy day today - I don't seem to have stopped, but once again it has been the sort of day that reminds me why we moved to the boat - fantastic!

I finally managed to get a photo of some ducklings who hatched from a nest on the marina behind a bush on the barbeque area:

 

A very attentive mum

I started the day by cycling up to the university to give my German teacher a piano lesson. It was lovely to see her and it was a good lesson. I felt I had helped her a lot as she had been taught all about reading music and pushing down the keys but not a lot about how to relax and play with a proper technique. It was rewarding to see it all click into place with her,

On the way I was overtaken by many cyclists who are older than me as I wheezed my way up the hill to the Uni. I have been rather silly recently being in denial about my asthma and have not been using my inhaler. That is fine when I am not doing heavy exercise but the weakness shows when I try and over exert myself ...... lesson learnt.

Phil was keen to finish off the allotment this morning so we put in some more veg (beetroot and carrots). We then went to our local garden centre and bought a gooseberry bush.

The weather was quite nice (dry at least), so I filled the boat with fresh water and did other outdoor boaty chores.

I had booked a hair appointment this afternoon. I have a wonderful hairdresser who can actually cut my hair how I want it, instead of trying to tell me how it should be and cutting it how she wants it! This hairdresser is in the local small town in the other direction to the town we normally go to. This town is a favourite retirement location for very well heeled pensioners and generally it is quite 'posh', so I always do a sweep of the charity shops for designer clothes at low prices! I bought a lovely blouse for £3 and found a brilliant gardening hat, also for £3:

Phil had asked me to drop off at another garden centre to get a raspberry bush and when I arrived back with it he was champing at the bit to get back to the allotment to plant our fruit bushes, however I was distracted by some activity on the jetty from my friend T. I went down to see what was going on and found that she was building a ramp for the ducklings having witnessed them crying to get out of the canal and being ignored by their mum. She was worried that a pike might get them (very likely) so was building an escape route:

 

Jack was very annoyed that all this effort was being put in and that he was not the beneficiary:

And to add insult to injury,the gate was shut so that he couldn't chase the ducks. I took pity on him and took him for a walk along the tow path. The plan was to meet Phil at the allotment, so Jack and I walked up to the next bridge and went over to the other side of the canal walking to the village cricket pitch where we were able to strike off across the field to the allotment.

This is a favourite spot for continuous cruisers to moor up and I knew the occupants of five of the six boats which were moored there. I get on really well with all of them, they are great people with a very positive attitude to life and although I didn't know the last boat, the fact that it was called 'Bliss' made me think I would probably get on very well with them too!

Jack was very happy to have a walk and he ran and bounced along the tow path like a youngster even though he is an arthritic 12 year old. We discovered a bank of wild garlic:

and the bluebells are starting to appear too.

When we arrived at the allotment Phil had done most of the work (that was the plan) and it is nearly all planted out now:



cabbage, cauliflower, gooseberry bush and leeks

It is looking really good and we are looking forward to the produce from it:

Jack started out happily enough:

But soon became bored:

And eventually did the whippet fluttering eyelashes look which means 'please take me home' ...

.....   so I duly obliged.

Having worked so hard, I thought I might be entitled to a beer, so I poured myself a well earned pint of Abbot Ale (Suffolk beer which I was brought up on) and went and sat on the roof of the boat for half an hour before cooking tea. We have some large trees opposite and the bird life is vibrant there. I decided to try and shut out the sound of the traffic from the road and focus exclusively on the bird song and it was magical. I counted about ten different bird calls and the mix of it all was fantastic.

We are supposed to be going on a guided walk tomorrow, but there is much work to be done on the boat (cleaning, washing etc.) and I have to go away next week for a few days. Phil will go on the walk while I get things ship shape on the boat and then we can go together at a later date.

Another early night after a long, but fruitful day.....

Al

April Showers

This month has certainly lived up to its reputation and we have had our fair share of rain. In fact as I write this it is absolutely chucking it down. The toilet cassette needs emptying but I'm not going out to walk the 100 or so yards to the disposal point in this! I'll get soaked within the first couple of yards.

At least the rain will be good for our plants on the allotment. It is nearly all planted out now and is looking good.

It is also very cold and windy so I lit the fire first thing this morning and it has been going all day. Because the weather has been warm recently and we were fooled into thinking that summer is on its way, we have let our fuel supplies run right down and are now nearly out of wood. I think the trailer we bought last week is going to come in useful this weekend for a foraging trip! Its a good job that Phil has done it up so well and it is ready for use:

The weather is frustrating because I will be working solidly for a month in a couple of weeks time and I would like to have some 'R and R' time before that stint starts. Of course for us that means outdoor pursuits - no chance in this.

We had planned to take the boat up to the basin by the estuary when I came back from Portugal, but I have been told that I will be flying straight to Ireland from Portugal without the chance to come home, so we have decided to leave the boat here in the marina. It is beautiful down by the sea, but there are few other boaters up there and it can get quite lonely. I love the peace and quiet but Phil is a very sociable person, so it is best for him to be around our friends in the marina while I am away so that he has some company. I can't wait to get up there when I come back in June though. It is a great place and I will be posting plenty of pictures then, so watch this space in June!

We did have a nice weekend though. I was working in the Midlands and we have always wanted to walk at Dovedale as it is a famous beauty spot. I was working on Saturday but had Sunday off so we stayed over in a hotel and spent Sunday morning walking by the side of the River Dove:

 having crossed over the famous stepping stones:

It was also great to have a bath. Phil had been shopping and bought me a present of some quirky soap which looked like a bit of cheesecake. I always have a cup of tea (or something stronger) when I wallow in the bath and this soap looked very appropriate next to my tea:

We have booked a guided bird watching walk for Saturday with our local bird watching club, but they are threatening to cancel because the weather is so bad and there are storms and flooding forecast for the weekend. It's a shame because the walk would have taken us through some lovely bluebell woods in the Trough of Bowland. We will see, it may still happen and if it does I will post some bluebell pics on here.

Al

A Day Off

I am working over the weekend and today is the only day off I will get in a while, so I tried to make the most of it.

I did some washing and filled the boat up with fresh water and had a lovely chat with our neighbours and other boater friends. At lunchtime, Phil said that it would be good to spend an afternoon bird watching because we are not sure when we will get the opportunity in the future. I am working tomorrow in the Midlands and we are hoping to have a walk on the way home on Sunday, but after that things get very busy,

I have now been booked to go straight from Portugal to Ireland where I will be working for three weeks, so I will be away from home for a month. Hopefully Phil will be able to come over and spend a weekend with me over there.

So we decided to go bird watching in search of the Great Grey Shrike, a rare bird which had been reported to be on a fell about 30 miles away. We parked up at the spot and went in search. Pendle Hill is such an iconic hill and we have climbed it many times:

There were some sweet lambs in the fields:



As we were leaving the fell, (with no sighting of the bird unfortunately), an escaped lamb was running down the road. A car coming from the opposite direction stopped and together we managed to catch the lamb and return it to its mum. The other driver was local and told us that it had been a difficult day. The farmer's trailer had been stolen with a bull in it. Once the thieves had realised what was in it, they released it on the fell and drove off. Dodgy stuff, I'm glad I wasn't walking on the fell at that time!!

I spent the evening sitting on top of the boat taking in the last vestiges of the sunset. An early start tomorrow so an early night.

Night night

Al

Community

I started the day by meeting my German teacher for a coffee. I go to a conversation class every week and the group of people are great.We all get on and learn so much from each other. My teacher expressed an interest in learning the piano and we have agreed that I will give her a piano lesson in exchange for some German conversation where she will correct me whenever I get sonething wrong, which is something she can't do in a large group. We chatted for a long time and she is such a sensitive and intelligent person, I really enjoy being in her company.

I rode my bike back along the tow path and saw the first duckling of the year - as usual I had forgotten to bring the camera so no pictures :(

I got home to find Jack the Whippet waiting for me, so I took him for a walk. The swans are nesting:

 

It was very therapeutic getting out for a good walk and the scenery was lovely as usual:

We have had a very social evening, with four boaters dropping in to see us at different times. I had bumped into one of them yesterday and had given her a bottle of our own brew cider to try. In return she brought me some home made wild garlic pesto sauce. It smelt absolutely sensational and I can't wait to try it, but as I am working the next few days, it may be prudent to leave it until I am not in close contact with people! I had passed a whole bank of wild garlic on the tow path today when cycling back from town and she said that is where she had got it from.

It has been a very social day and I have really felt the sense of community amongst us boaters today. Long may it continue!



Al :)

Hard Labour

Today we don't seem to have stopped, but it has been lovely and all about why we moved to the boat.

We started by working on our other little boat. We have decided to sell this now as we don't really use it enough to justify the mooring fee and son number 2 has declared that he is too busy to take it out or stay on it. I have to say that it is looking lovely:

We needed to just do some tidying and touch up the paint work and also to turn it around. Our lovely neighbours, a retired couple heard that we may be going out and booked themselves in for a trip! However it started to get quite windy so we decided to rope it around rather than risk taking it out and bouncing off other boats.


Phil stayed on the boat and started the engine ready for any emergency and I got hold of the stern and centre ropes and just swung her slowly round, bringing her smoothly back into the mooring. Phil came out of the boat looking incredulous, muttering something about that helmsmans course I had attended being well worth the money, threw a rope at me and suggested I tie her up using my 'extensive knowledge of knots' seeing as I thought I was so clever. Hmmmm I think that meant I had done quite a good job!

The next jobs were related to our main boat. I filled up with fresh water, washed the outside, swept out and laid the fire.

We then turned our attention to the allotment and while T and I went to get some more produce and compost, Phil was watching the retired couple on the next berth struggling with their patch of garden which has been badly neglected over the past couple of years (by the previous occupants). To cut a long story short we signed ourselves up for weeding it this afternoon, so when T and I arrived back having bought cabbage and cauliflower for the allotment and some herbs for the top of our boats we already had our work cut out.

Yesterday we bought a trailer from a friend for our wood collecting:

.... so Phil spent the afternoon painting it and generally tidying it up, while I dug and weeded next door's little garden. I also potted some lettuce and herbs for our little garden at the end of our berth:

We have lettuce, ginger, lavender, chives and rosemary.

While I was pottering around, I saw the my first swallow of the year which was great:

As the weather was good, many people were out and we saw lots of boater friends of ours who had sailed up to our part of the cut and who dropped in to see us. It was fantastic to catch up with so many lovely people and to chat to other friends on the marina. It was reassuring to have a laugh and a joke and to realise that actually it takes a lot for me to have a problem with anyone and if I do, I should trust my instincts and not just think that I am intolerant!

Our neighbour A on the other side of us has had a few meals with us over the last week. I always cook too much and he is a single lad on his own so it is easy to include him. He is very appreciative and as a 'Thank you' he gave us a lottery ticket last night which won us a tenner.

Jack the whippet had a great time turning up on a regular basis and playing us off against T his owner, trying to get scraps and biscuits out of both of us. He did get some beef and gravy from the beef dinner I cooked tonight though.

We are now just sitting down probably for the first time today so I think we will sleep well tonight....

Good night ...

Al :)

Bird Song

I sat out on top of the boat this evening and just soaked up the atmosphere. The sun was shining and  spring is evident all around us. There is a very vociferous song thrush in the tree opposite us, the curlews are bubbling in the fields across the other side of the canal and lapwings fly over with their eerie call. They are displaying at the moment which is quite a sight as they swoop and dive above our heads and over the fields.

Sitting there listening to all the different bird song was magical. On the boat we are so much closer to nature and we feel so lucky.

Today Phil drilled a hole 4 ins in diameter at the end of the bed and another one at the other end through to the bathroom cupboard. We will see how much air flow this creates and if it solves the damp problem. So far the dehumidifiers in the wardrobes are working well, but damp is becoming less of a problem in any case as the weather improves.

We did some more work on the allotment today, putting up wire fencing to keep the rabbits out. They are a real problem and have even eaten the string boundary markers we put out the other day:

I think the allotment is going to be a life saver for my 'problems' on the marina. It will be somewhere I can escape to when things start to get to me. Other people on the marina are much more tolerant than me, they manage to rub along with these people okay, even though they do recognise the problems. However I find it difficult to share the same space even though I never go anywhere near them. I think the allotment is going to be a welcome refuge for me.

The light as the evening closed in was lovely. We do get some beautiful skies around here:

 

Al

Planting

Today we woke up to heavy rain and hail, so I thought I had better take the opportunity to do some work on my website. I worked hard all morning and then the weather started to clear, which is just as well, as I was starting to go stir crazy.

Phil suggested that we do some planting out at the allotment, so we spent an enjoyable couple of hours down there. We had a 'committee' meeting last night with T and made lots of decisions about what to plant and what we needed to buy. Jack sat amongst us and seemed to take a keen interest in the proceedings:

This is boring ...

No No that's really not a good idea ...

well I'm only trying to help ...

That's more like it - glad you took my advice.

He also came with us today just to check that we were doing it right:



After we had finished planting potatos, beans, onions, shallots, garlic and parsnips, I took him for a walk up to the farm to get some milk and eggs.

The sky was fantastic over the fields:

On the way back I passed the new village hall which is nearly complete and looking really good:

 

Shortly after that we arrived at our bridge, you can just see our boat (the blue one):

We had a salad for tea tonight. Sunday's weigh in was not good and if I don't rein myself in I am going to end up several stone overweight. I have not exercised enough to work the extra calories off recently. I think Jack is due for a big walk and then I can continue to indulge myself - I love my food so much!   

Al                                                                                                                                                               

 

A Sad Day

This morning a fellow boater drowned at the basin down near the bay.

The whole community are very upset. We don't know the full story, but apparently she slipped off her boat and fell into the deep water. That is all we know.

It has been a wake up call for Phil and I. We love going up there and we are both strong swimmers, but it is very deep and we have decided that we should wear life jackets when travelling through the locks and in the basin.

We are all very sad and thinking of the family.

Easter

The weather has been cold and wet for the last few days and it's looking like it is not going to change soon either. It has meant that I have finally finished all the cleaning and tidying on the boat and it is looking beautiful:

I even polished the coal scuttles!!!!



However, even the damp drizzle couldn't keep me in all day and I spent some time doing outside chores such as chopping wood and filling up with water. I also did some work on our allotment, digging it over and chucking out the stones and weeds. It just needs a rake over and it will be ready for planting out, exciting stuff!

The allotment is 5 minutes walk from the marina, near to the brand new village hall. The council are investing a lot of money in the village with a view to expanding these facilities, so we are hoping to get a bigger patch on which we can put up a shed. Half way between the allotment and the marina is our local pub which sells my favourite pint of real ale, so I can envisage a detour on the way home after an afternoons digging and planting, it couldn't have worked out better!

On that subject I have worked hard today, so felt I had earned a meal out. We went to one of our favourite pubs near the estuary and had a lovely meal.

Over dinner we discussed our current situation and are very pleased with the way our life is panning out. However a couple of recent 'incidents' on our marina have unsettled us a little bit and we discussed strategies for dealing with these things which get in the way of the 'quiet life' we have opted for. I know I paint a very positive picture of life on a narrow boat, but it's not all 'castles and roses' living on the canal. However I am very much a 'glass half full person' and I believe that every problem has a solution. I will post how we deal with these issues in future blogs.

Al



Spring Cleaning

Over the past few days I have been spring cleaning. I thought it would only take me a day but I wanted to clean every cupboard and surface, including ceilings  and it turns out that there is more surface area than I had anticipated. Our previous house was a huge victorian terrace with very high ceilings, 4 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms and two bathrooms so a proper spring clean took me at least two weeks.

At least the ceilings on the boat are within easy reach and I am glad to say that having thrown every damp solution at the wardrobes they are now dry and all the musty smells have disappeared. It was amazing how dirty the fire had made the boat with many sooty deposits coming off the ceilings particularly and the curtains came out of the wash a much lighter shade of cream than when they went in! Hopefully we won't need to use the fire so much in the coming months.

I burnt some oils in the bedroom earlier and the whole boat is now smelling lovely. My usual aromatherapy combination is Rose and Geranium, which gives a lovely fresh smell. Sometimes I mix Neroli, Lavender or Orange oil together, but today I tried a new combination - Cedarwood and Frankincense, which is really lovely, I can recommend it.

Tomorrow T and I are going to dig our allotment ready for planting. The weather for the Easter weekend is not looking good which is a shame, as Phil and I were hoping to go for a long walk, but there are still lots of chores to do so maybe it is a good thing that we are not distracted.

Son number two is due to finish his degree next term and is applying for jobs further afield so we have decided to sell his little boat and get him a flat locally until he finds work, but there is still some work to do on the boat before we sell it. My push bike needs to come out of hibernation and have a good overhaul before I start riding it in earnest now that the good weather is arriving. Also a number of friends have put aside wood for us that they have accumulated which we need to collect and put in  our store. A friend has offered us a trailer for the car at a very good price, so now we can collect wood without making a mess of the interior of the car. They are all jobs which I love, but which take up time and I only have a week off before I am back at work.

Next term is quite heavy. I was asked to go to South Africa to work for a month at the end of April, but I had to turn it down as I have so many commitments here. I am fine with the week in Portugal because I can shift things around that, but a month is a big commitment. I am suddenly in the position where I am going to have to make some serious decisions about future work. I may have to give up more regular work in the UK so that I don't miss out on overseas opportunities in the future - we will see.

Al

Allotment!

I received an email from my friend T as I was leaving Newcastle to say that we have reached the top of the allotment list and could we go round that evening to view our plot of land. The yearly fee is a grand total of £8.50 (£4.25 each) and the plot is in really good nick:

You can see it in the left corner of this photo

We have spent the last couple of days discussing what we will plant and what tools we will need and it is all very exciting. Everything seems to be going according to plan, I do believe that if you set your sights on what you want and really go for it, it will happen. A friend of mine calls it 'putting your intentions out into the universe'.

We are going shopping tomorow to get some gardening tools and some plants from the market in town and then we are going to get digging.

In the meantime I am doing a spring clean of the boat. I thought it would take me just a day, but I have spent all day just doing the bedroom and haven't touched the rest of the boat yet. A lot of that is to do with the fact that I have had to deal with the damp in the wardrobes.

When we came back from being away I really noticed the smell of damp much more. Phil still says that I am imagining it, but I really can smell it and it is starting to bug me. I decided that it is time I sorted it out so I have thrown everything at it. I have ordered several types of de-humidifier from Amazon and will keep you posted as to which works the best. Today I thoroughly washed and dried out the insides of the wardrobes and put several de-humidifiers in them and also under the bed. Our boat builder came round last week and showed us where to drill holes in order to get some air flow under there and I think I am on top of it now. I will keep you posted as I know that damp and condensation is a major problem for everyone on boats.

Yesterday we went up to our storage unit and tidied it up.

We sold most of our stuff when we moved out of our house, but there were some things we really couldn't part with, especially my books. I had a house full and probably had several hundred books all over the house. But yesterday we had a look at things again and realised that there was still stuff that we could get rid of, so the charity shops will get another influx. They never used to take books but now there is an oxfam shop in town which is completely dedicated to books and cds. I go in there regularly, buy a book for a couple of quid and then give it back, it works really well.

Our unit looked a lot tidier when we had finished:

We then collected son number 2 who has nearly finished his final year at university. He has completed his dissertation and is now revising hard for the final exams. I worry so much about him as I don't think he eats properly when the pressure is on, so I cooked him his favourite meal;steak, chips with a side salad followed by strawberries and cream. he polished the lot off which really pleased me.

I now have two weeks off, but so many plans that I'm still not sure I will be able to fit everything in that I want to do. We are hoping to get 'out on the water' in the next couple of weeks, so we will see.

Al :)