Down to -10C.

Hi Friends.

Brrrrrrrrrrr it is freezing outside, but very cosy inside the boat. Sunday night it got down to -10c, which is perishing. Wales saw -17c, I wonder if anyone can beat that?

Yesterday may well have been Sunday, but customers still require coal, especially in this weather, so I was up early delivering coal to a boat on the towpath. Customers then began arriving for their coal, some regular customers and other new to us. We are iced in good & proper at Market Harborough, but I am really not bothered. Over the past few days it has got thicker and thicker, so we will not be moving anywhere. Having got here on Saturday we will now stay put, as there is no way we can wind in the basin at the moment. If the ice gets thick enough we could think about organising an ice skating competition in the basin. I guess I could call it Dancing on Ice the sequel. Or Dancing on Ice with a wing and pray, because you can bet your bottom dollar someone would end up on their behind and that someone would be me.
On a serious note. The ice will not get thick enough to ice skate on or to infact walk on, so PLEASE do not go out on the ice, because if you fall through you could die, as the cold water will kill you or worse you could drown. If your out walking your dog near a river, canal or lake PLEASE keep your dog on a lead, so it cannot run on to the ice. If however you feel the need to let your dog off of the lead and it runs on to the ice for goodness sake DO NOT go out and try and rescue it. Your dog is perfectly capable of saving itself. I may sound stern with my warnings, but I really do not want to hear of someone dying trying to save their dog this Winter, there was way to much of that last Winter. A couple of days ago a couple who did have their dog on a flexi lead, were in such a position when the dog saw a rabbit on the otherside of the canal, so it tried to run across the canal. Thankfully the ice did not break and because they had the dog on a lead they were able to pull him back on to land. It scared the living daylights out of the owners.

As lunchtime approached yesterday I put the Closed sign up and we got dressed up for lunch at the Waterfront, where we met up with boating friends, Merleen, Paul, Ann and Doug, who had driven over from Warwick. Apparently the roads were fine. We spent a pleasant afternoon eating and drinking with them at the Waterfront. The food was fantastic as always and the conversation with old friends was even better. Three hours flew by before we realised it was almost 4pm and they had to make tracks back to Warwick.

Back on the boat Keith and I settled in for a cosy evening in front of the TV. Keith had a sandwich for tea, but I only managed a packet of crisps, as I was still full up from lunch, I am not used to eating a 3 course meal, goodness knows how I am going to manage with 7 courses at our Christmas meal. Anyway whilst I watched X-Factor the result and some of 'I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here', Keith slept in the chair. I was so pleased that finally sense has prevailed and Wagner and Katie have left the X-Factor. The competition can now begin in earnest. I am overjoyed that Mary Byrne is in the semi-finals, she has a wonderful voice and she is staning tall for the more mature woman, so good on her. As for 'I'm A Celeb. I thought it maybe Britt to go last night along with Alison. Kayla showed she was made of sterner stuff, so good on her. I am waiting for the next battle between Shaun and Gillian. Shaun held his temper so well past night. I am sorry Gillian is a pain in butt. But I do think she has been put up to it by the producers. I am sorry if your reading this bit and do not watch either program. We watch them because what else is there to do on a cold night hahaha.

So today is Monday and I have been out and delivered coal to the basin by trolley. Keith has gone down the town to buy a new laptop, because his has died. I am going now to get some boat jobs done, so have a good day, but please stay safe.