Last day of 2011.

Yesterday being the 30th December, we walked up to see Jacquie and Stein on NB Like Ducks 2 Water, but they were not at home. On the way there we saw Andy and his dog Lyra coming heading for the Midland Chandler moorings, so after discovering that there was no one on Like Ducks 2 Water, we walked round to Midland Chandlers and had a few words with Andy who was out and about for a few days. It is always nice to catch up with him and Lyra.

Keith went into Midland Chandlers and thanked them for their help with the battery wiring, we then walked back to the boat and after a coffee we got on with completing the rewiring necessary to bring Hadar up to scratch, we had run out of time the day before. I was once again the gopher (spelt correctly this time). With all the usual jobs done and nothing much else to do we got on with the job in hand and completed the rewiring, well when I say we I mean Keith, because to be honest the electrics goes over my head a little. I do try and take in as much as I can but I only have a small brain, which is getting smaller the older I get. I can do the basics though, which I think is important when living on a boat. Keith added a cable from a battery –ve terminal to the hull. Luck would have it that one of the cables he removed the day before yesterday was a perfect fit, so now the –ve side of the 12v is now properly earthed to the hull. Phew. He then ensure the 240v Earth was also connected to the hull, which apparently it wasn’t, but it is now so phew again. It turned out that he had disconnected at some point, which we cannot recall, we can only think it was due to a previous problem which I know have no recollection of. But at the time it must have been important. Keith is now happy that everything is as it should be electrically speaking. We are now going to keep our fingers crossed, that this improves things now that we have the extra freezer on board. With the electrical work done, the day was a bit of a damp squid with it raining most of the day, so we did not get the insulation work done on the generator, we sat and watch a couple of films instead.

New Years Eve, wow I still cannot believe the year has gone this fast. After walking Paddy and having breakfast, it was time to think of what the last day of 2011 would bring us. The generator was run to charge the batteries, which were low having left the freezer on all night. Having sorted out the fires, I suggested we paid a visit to Jacquie and Stein on NB Like Ducks 2 Water, so we locked up the boat and headed off up the towpath, to find Stein tying the boat up on the sanitary station in order to fill up with water etc, so we walked on round to see him and Jacquie, but before getting there we said a Happy New Year to Peter Underwood on NB Blackberry Way who was setting off from his mooring in front of us.

Stein invited us on boat their beautiful boat, where Jacquie made us a coffee, which we enjoyed with Mince pies whilst chatting about anything and everything. Jacquie and Stein have been on the water some 6 months now and look very happy with their choice. It was wonderful getting to know them as we chatted and I am sure we will see a lot more of them whilst we cruise the waterways. After a couple of hours of chatting, we wished them both a Happy New Year and left them in peace.

Back at the boat it was time for some lunch, we then got on with taking down the Christmas lights and all the decorations, which have served their purpose. Normally I would leave them up until the 12th night, but as we have been having battery problems, we have not had the lights on, so as I see it there is no point in keeping them up. The Christmas tree and decorations are collecting dust from the fire, so taking them down also made me put the duster around to clear the dust. With the decorations put away for another year and the dust laid to rest, I poured us both a pint of Old Speckled Hen and we settled down to watch the new Ben Hur made in 2010. The end to 2011 will be a quiet one for us and no doubt we will be in bed before midnight, so I will take this opportunity to wish you all A HAPPY NEW YEAR. I will see you in 2012.

Chat soon xx